


The Slow Path to Adventure

by TimeLadyoftheSith



Series: The Long Way Around [1]
Category: Doctor Who
Genre: Alternate Torchwood, Eventual Smut, F/M, New Beginnings, Pete's World, Starting Over, relationships
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-28
Updated: 2017-04-01
Packaged: 2018-10-11 23:58:52
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 34,362
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10477509
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TimeLadyoftheSith/pseuds/TimeLadyoftheSith
Summary: My take on Rose and Tentoo starting their lives





	1. Chapter 1

"He's gone, Rose." A warm hand pulled on hers. It felt so familiar clasped in hers, but it was warm when it should have been cool. It should have felt like coming home, but it didn't. Despite being so human, it felt more alien than anything she'd ever touched. "Come on. Jackie's waiting."

Rose sniffled and looked up at the man beside her. He looked so much like the Doctor. He sounded like the Doctor. "I know." She replied, trying not to let the dejection show on her face. "I know." She let the Doctor look alike tug her gently across the sand.

Jackie pulled her into a hug and kissed her hair. Her mum knew enough about the pain in her eyes to say nothing. She hung onto her daughter for a moment, and then pulled away. "I'm gonna call a cab. You two wait here." Rose watched as Jackie wandered a good bit away and pulled out her mobile. Then her eyes sought out the strange man she had only so recently met.

The Doctor look alike had folded his legs and settled himself into the sand and gravel near the haggard road. His face was scrunched into a pained look, and he kept tilting his head as if listening for something. Then his eyes would squeeze shut for a moment. He looked so much like her Doctor that she couldn't resist the concern than flooded through her. Rose shuffled over to him and settled down onto the ground. "You okay, Doctor?" It was hard to say that word. It almost stuck in her throat.

"Fine." He sighed and offered her a weak smile. "Headache I guess. Never had one before, so I dunno."

"We can pick up some paracetamol when we get into town." Rose advised him, patting his knee. "This might help a bit though. Gimme your hand." She held hers out to him, and took the familiar and foreign palm in hers. Then she began rubbing the junction between his thumb and his index finger. "Helping?"

"Yes actually." His smile looked less pained. "Nice trick."

"Gran taught it to me." Rose smiled at him shyly. She tried not to flinch away when he paused her rubbing to clasp her hands in his. Then she smiled again when he raised her knuckles to his lips for a kiss. "What was that for?" She tried to make her tone teasing, but she knew she probably failed.

"I just missed holding your hand." The Doctor look alike, explained. "I missed how perfectly they fit together." His voice was soft, as he laced their fingers together. "I missed you, Rose."

"I missed you too." She couldn't help but lay her head on his shoulder.

"I should say so." He let out a snort of amusement. "Launching yourself across the void unprotected." He shook his head. "You could have died."

"You really have no idea, Doctor." Rose averted her eyes so he couldn't see. She wasn't ready to go into that story. It wasn't the time, and most definitely wasn't the place.

"Rose," The Doctor's voice was full of worry, and was that just a slight tinge of anger? "Rose, how many times did you make the jump?"

"I'll tell you about it later." Rose picked at a rock on the ground. "When we have a very large bottle of something strong."

"I'll hold you to that." The Doctor look alike grew quiet, never releasing her hand, and stared down at the gravel in front of them too.

The silence between them would be awkward for a bit, then it would seem stretching, and finally comfortable. It kept changing its feeling as it grew longer. Finally, Jackie's voice called out to them. "Car's here!"

The Doctor look alike scrambled to his feet, brushed off his pants, and then extended a hand to Rose. She took it and let him pull her up. She overestimated her upward speed and stumbled a bit into him. Rose felt his hands clasp around her waist, just as the Doctor would have, but this man's touch was far more of a caress. She finally felt a genuine smile peek out across her lips. That made his eyes crinkle in happiness.

"Oi! Enough gropin' up on each other, and let's go!" Jackie called.

Rose went to pull back, but she felt her heart flip a little when this new Doctor press a light kiss to her forehead. She tried to fight the blush as she wiggled away from him, and she snagged his hand to walk to the waiting car.

"It's about time you two." Jackie was tapping her foot. "In you get."

Rose let the Doctor double slide in, then she followed suit. Soon they were on the road heading to the tiny tourist village she knew waited up the road. The ride was silent, and Rose wanted to break it. She just couldn't think of what to say. She was exhausted, and so many thoughts rattled around in her brain.

The man beside her seemed as lost in thought as she was, and he kept doing that head tilt thing again. He also refused to release her hand. He looked even more tense than she did. Finally, Rose laid her head against his shoulder, and he relaxed a bit. He smelled like the Doctor, like star dust and wonder, but there was also that distinct human man smell. It was more musky than the Doctor had been, and it took Rose a minute to place it. This man had been sweating. The Doctor never sweated. It was an odd observation for her. This Doctor man got headaches, and he sweated. It was bizarre.

The hotel was packed, as it was the height of tourist season. There were only two rooms available, and neither of them had two beds. Jackie handed Rose both keys, as the Doctor duplicate browsed the newspaper on the counter, studiously ignoring the ladies. Her mum didn't say a word, she left the choice up to Rose, then she mumbled about going to pick up some dinner and some clothes for three of them.

Rose smiled and wandered back over the Doctor look alike, and she bumped his ribs with his elbow. "Ready to head up?" She asked.

"Yeah." He smiled, and he looked so tired. Rose hadn't seen the Doctor's features look so drained since after Krop Tor. "Whenever you are."

Rose led him up the three flights of stairs to their floor. They could have taken the lift, but she was nervous about being in such a close space with him. They came to a stop in the hall between the two rooms, and Rose swallowed. This was the first tipping point, and she knew it. Rose thumbed the two keycards in her palm. She looked at the man beside her, and he was watching her with hesitant eyes. She felt herself crack. "Here we are then." She slid a card into the slot and pushed the door open. When the door clicked shut, she realized she was alone, in the dim room. She yanked the door back open. "You coming or not, Doctor?"

The joy that split across that face almost floored her. "Of course!" He stepped into the room and ran a hand through his hair. She watched his adam's apple bob as he swallowed. Then he smiled and took in the small room. His eyes landed on the bed and she saw him twitch a bit. "We've slept in smaller beds." He mused and wandered past her to turn on a lamp.

"Yeah." Rose chuckled as she followed him in. "Like that cot on Nivernus, when we got thrown in jail because you were eating a banana in public!"

"And bananas were banned because the crown prince was allergic!" The Doctor man let a laugh burst free. It put Rose at ease to see he had retained, at least one of the Doctor's memories. She wondered if he really did have them all.

Silence engulfed them again, as he settled onto the edge of the bed. "Mum's just gone to get some dinner." Rose explained, flopping down next to him and toeing off her sneakers. "And some clothes and such."

"That was nice of her." He offered limply, as he watched her kick her shoes across the room. They grew quiet again, and this time the silence was heavy as the Doctor like man stared unabashedly at her face. "How long has it been for you Rose?" His voice was quiet.

"From the time the void closed to the time I made my first jump." Rose huffed and pretended to calculate the time. She didn't have to though, because she knew it almost down to the minute by now. "Three years, six months, and four days."

"To the first jump?" His hand laced their fingers together. "And how long did it take you to find me?"

"One year, eight months, and twenty two days." She said without even bothering to pretend to think.

"Five years?" His voice was filled with awe and concern. "No wonder you look so, different."

"You look exactly the same." Rose snorted. "Is that your way of telling me I look old?"

"No! Of course not!" The Doctor beside her scrambled to apologize, stumbling over his words. Rose couldn't help the giggle that bubbled out. "Oh! You're picking on me!" He gave an affronted look and pulled her in. "What I meant was, you look so tired Rose." She felt his lips graze her hair. The Doctor had never been so affectionate. Hugs were always up for grabs with him, but kisses were always held back. Although she had some dreamlike memories of that same firm pressing sensation on her head from when she'd fallen asleep in his arms on the sofa or in some prison.

"I am." She admitted. "I am exhausted. Wish Mum would hurry back." She thought that was a decent recovery, but she could help snuggling into his chest a bit closer. It was instinctive for her, even after all these years. The Doctor hugs, and she snuggles. Something was off though, not quite the same. Then she remembered, one heart.

"That's not what I meant, Rose Tyler, and you know it." He whispered into her hair, giving a firm squeeze. "But I can wait."

"How long was it for you, Doctor?" She couldn't help but ask.

"Three and a half years." He replied, and she felt his chin rest on her head. He didn't want to let go, and Rose felt a bit conflicted to admit that she didn't want him to either. This was as close to home as she'd felt for so long. "But it felt like three thousand."

A knock echoed on the door, and Rose felt him release her reluctantly. "You two hungry or not?" Jackie's voice called through the door. Rose scrambled to her feet and opened the door. Jackie had takeaway in her hands, along with some bags from the local shops. Rose was about to let her pass Jackie shook her head. "Nope, I'm going to phone your father. You two eat and rest. You know how long of a trip home it is." Jackie passed her two bags of the takeaway and a shop bag, and Rose handed her the key. Then she shut the door behind her.

"That smells great!" The duplicate on the bed jumped up to help her. "What'd she get?"

Rose passed him the food and set the shop bag in the bathroom. She took a moment to use the loo and straighten her hair. When she came back out, he had spread out some fish and chips on the table in the corner. She settled into the chair across from him. She reached for the bag to dig out some vinegar packets, but then she caught a whiff of her chips. He had already drenched them for her. "You remembered!" She beamed at him, popping one in her mouth.

"Of course I remembered." He sniffed proudly. "Like I remember you prefer light cream and two sugars in your tea. You like your coffee with salted caramel. You love sappy novels, whip cream in your coco, and " His voice trailed off as she stared at him. "I remember everything about you, Rose."

"I didn't think you'd ever noticed what type of novels I read." Rose mused, resuming her munching.

"Of course I noticed. Why do you think the best ones all got moved to that shelf by the fireplace?" She saw his ears turn pink as he looked down to take a bite.

"I thought the TARDIS did it. I mean, she always had my favorite midnight snack waiting in the fridge." Rose felt her own cheeks warming.

"That was me too." The new Doctor whispered.

"Oh!" Rose gave him a tongue touched smile and reached over to pat the hand he had resting on the table. "Thank you, Doctor."

"Anything to make you smile at me like that." He gave her his cheesiest grin, and they lapsed back into silence. This time it was completely warm and comfortable. It felt so them. The Doctor finished eating first and pushed himself to his feet to toss his trash in the bin. "I'm gonna shower. This whole sweating thing is not very fun."

"Alright. Mum picked up some stuff. It's in the bag on the counter." Rose responded as she finished the last few bites. "I'm gonna check the news, and I have to report in."

The Doctor had frozen in the middle of shedding his suit coat. "Report in?"

"Yeah." She finished her drink. "'Need to tell them the final jump was a success, and to shut the machine down." She bundled up her own trash.

"Won't Pete do that after your mum phones?" The Doctor duplicate looked puzzled.

"Oh, Right." Rose bit her lip and looked down. She wasn't ready to tell him. He'd found out soon enough, and she wasn't sure how'd she take it. "Yeah. Forgot."

"It's been a long day." The Doctor yawned a bit. "I'm even tired. Reckon that'll take some getting used to."

"Go on and shower, Doctor." Rose gave him a push. Once the door was shut, she flipped out her mobile and shot Jake a text. Then she slipped the mobile onto the table by the bed and flipped on the news. She could hear the shower running, as she skimmed through the evening reports. She wasn't really paying attention.

She had realized that sometime during dinner, she had stopped mentally separating him from the Doctor. Her brain had gotten tired of the comparison. It had begun to accept that the human in the shower was the Doctor, but the Doctor was far away now. She wished her heart would get with the program. Rose hadn't notice the shower turn off, until a shirtless Doctor emerged from the bathroom in a pair of red sleep pants. He was staring with flushed cheeks at a box in his hands.

"What's this?" The Doctor asked holding up the box sheepishly.

Rose felt her stomach tighten in embarrassed horror as she read the label. "Condoms apparently." She squeaked out, jumping off the bed. She snatched the box from his grasp and hissed. "I'm gonna strangle mum."

"Oh!" The Doctor turned even more red, and Rose had to admit it was enduring. She ducked passed him into the bathroom and shut the door.

She leaned against the door and inhaled the steam in the room to calm her racing heart. She shoved the black box back into the bag, and dug out her own pajamas, a pair of super short pink sleep shorts and a matching tank top. Rose stripped down and climbed into the shower. She scrubbed her hair with the small bottle of shampoo and conditioner her mum had gotten, and then lathered up with the hotel soap the Doctor had left on the tray.

Once she felt clean, she toweled off, dressed, and peeked out into the room. The Doctor was reclining back on the pillows, one knee bent up, looking just a tad more relaxed. Rose turned off the light to the bathroom behind her and made her way nervously over to the bed. Yes, they had shared in the past, but never with so little layers between them. Rose was surprised to find she felt hesitant. What if he wasn't okay with this? This was so domestic. She swallowed her nerves and climbed into bed next to him. When the Doctor lifted his arm, as if in invitation, she snuggled in against him. He was so warm, and it made her finally feel safe. For the first time in over five years, she felt secure.

"I'm sorry if I embarrassed you." The Doctor murmured, giving her a soft squeeze.

"Mum embarrassed me, you, Doctor." Rose murmured. She felt herself grin as the way her breath on his chest brought up goosebumps. That was new too. "It's fine."

The Doctor hummed contentedly and began toying with her hair. After a moment, he flicked off the television and rolled over to face her. "I know I keep saying it." He whispered. "But I missed you."

"I missed you too." Rose repeated for what seemed like the hundredth but not nearly enough time. "I told you forever. You didn't think one little universe wall was going to keep me from finding you, did you?"

"Of course not." The Doctor smiled. "But you succeeded where I failed. I searched over and over for a crack in the walls, but I never could find a way to bring you back."

Rose shifted her arm and found his hand. She clenched it between them before lacing her fingers. He was doing that listening face again. "Why do you keep doing that?" She asked, snuggling closer to him.

The Doctor began rubbing his thumb over her knuckles. "I keep listening for the TARDIS." He explained with a sigh. "I've had her in my head for so long. Without hearing her there, it seems so empty." He closed his eyes and failed to keep the pain from his face.

Rose rested her forehead against his and gave his hand a soft squeeze. "It took me almost eight months to fall asleep properly when I first came here." She watched as his eyes opened to meet hers. "Without her singing and humming in my head, it felt so wrong." She offered him a hopeful smile. "But hey, he gave you the TARDIS clipping. We can grow one of our own."

The Doctor gave a half smile and released her hand to trail a thumb down her cheek. He didn't say anything, just breathed in as Rose exhaled. Rose felt her heart begin to race as he moved his face forward slowly. The second tipping point was here. She had time to pull back, but she couldn't make herself do it.

Their lips met, softer than the crushing snog she'd given him on the beach. This was soft, tentative, as if asking for permission. Rose gave her assent with a soft sigh and pressing her lips to his more firmly. The Doctor wrapped an arm over her side pulling her closer. She lost herself in the sensations and taste. He ran his tongue across her bottom lip and she granted him entrance. She twirled her own around his, sliding a hand up to stroke his sideburn. She shivered as he tangled a hand in her hair and sucked her lower lip into his mouth. The Doctor could kiss, and it lit those long since banked fires in her body.

Rose moved her hand behind his head, and scratched the fine hairs at the nape of his neck with her fingers. She heard herself groan as he shivered at her touch. Suddenly she found herself on her back. His fingers laced through hers, and he pushed them up on the pillow. The long slumbering sensation of arousal began to pool low in her abdomen, and she ran her right leg along his left. She gave his lower lip a tug with her teeth, and she felt him flex his hips into her. There was no way for him to hide the effect she had on his body in those pants.

Suddenly he broke the kiss and jerked away to roll onto his back. "Sorry!" He gasped, his hands flying down to try to cover the noticeable reaction.

Rose gasped at the loss. She was stunned for a moment then managed to choke out. "Sorry for what?!" She looked over at him, propping herself up on her elbows. "That was.... wow."

She saw his hands and his blush and comprehended what had happened before he spoke. "I didn't mean to press myself into you like that!" He half whispered not meeting her eyes. "I couldn't control it. Damn human hormones."

"Happens, Doctor. It's gonna happen." She snickered a bit, feeling just a tad guilty for laughing at his embarrassment. It wasn't often he got embarrassed. "Just wait til in the morning."

"What happens in the morning?" The Doctor gulped.

"You'll see." Rose pulled the blankets down and snuggled under them. "Bedtime for the humans, Doctor. Come on, I'm cold now and you owe me almost six years of cuddles."

"In a minute. I'm gonna." He gulped and slipped off the bed. "I'm gonna go to the bathroom."

"Cold showers work best." Rose gave him s cheeky grin when he looked over at her, still blushing. He gave an adorable smile back and hurried to the bathroom. Rose turned off the lamp on the side table, plunging the room into darkness, and snuggled down into the pillows. She heard the shower run for s few minutes, then the Doctor tiptoed back to the bed.

When he slid under the blankets, his hands and toes were chilly, but his chest and stomach were warm. She wriggled back against him, and after a moment's pause, he wrapped her in his arms and nuzzled his chin into the top of her head. Rose located his hands near her stomach, and pulled them up to her chest. "Goodnight, Rose."

"Goodnight, Doctor." She murmured back. With his firm arms around her, and his even breathing against her back. Rose closed her eyes and felt sleep tug her under. 


	2. Chapter 2

For the first time in her memory, Rose woke before the Doctor. She wasn't complaining though. Sometime during the night, he had draped his leg over hers, slid his hand up her shirt to rest against her ribs, and had basically eliminated any possible gaps between the back of her body and the front of his. He was snoring very softly behind her. The Doctor snored, and Rose found that funny. She stifled a giggle and snuggled back against him even more. Her movements must have disturbed him, because he gave a happy hum and tightened his arms around her. He also began pressing his hips against her bum, and she had to fight off the urge to arch back into him.

The Doctor's happy hum turned into a heavy sigh of content as he pressed his hips into her again. Rose barely stifled her giggles, and, feeling a bit mischievous, she wriggled her hips. Her movements caused him to shift and she felt his morning arousal press against her bum. He pressed his hips again, a breathy moan escape his chest. His fingered flexed against her side, sliding down to press into her stomach. A giggle escaped Rose this time, and he froze. She counted to four before his hand began to slide up her waist. His hips were pulling back too, his leg sliding off hers.

She snagged his hand with hers and rolled over to face him, keeping his hand firmly on her hip. She smiled up at his alarmed look, pressing a kiss to his chest. "Good morning, Doctor."

"Good morning, Rose." He replied, cheeks red. "Sorry, I um." He jerked his hips back from her. "Excuse me a minute." He detached himself from her and dashed awkwardly from the bed. She heard the shower running shortly after.

"Still the Doctor." Rose mused to herself as she stretched and rolled over into the arm spot he had left behind. She pulled the blanket tight around her and closed her eyes again.

When she opened them again, the room door was closing, and the Doctor was carrying a tray of food. "Breakfast." She grinned at him as she smelled the bacon.

"Breakfast!" He grinned right back. "Eat quickly though, Jackie said Pete is sending up a Torchwood flight to get us. We have to meet them at the beach in an hour."

"Damn." Rose sighed running a hand through her hair. She shuffled out of bed and grabbed some bacon from the tray. "Lemme go change then." She paused when he grabbed her empty hand and pressed a kiss to the back of her hand.

"Have I ever told you how lovely you look in the morning?" The Doctor asked.

"No, usually you were ducking my pillow and coming back twenty minutes later with milk and pancakes as a peace offering." Rose chuckled.

"Well that's true." He kissed her hand again. "But you do."

"Well thank you." Rose touched her tongue to the corner of her mouth in a grin. Then she ducked into the bathroom to change. This man was even more of a conundrum that she thought. First kissing, then night long spooning, and now compliments without insulting her species. Yes, this would take some getting used to. Rose splashed water on her face, pulled on her clothes and rejoined him at the table.

They had just finished off the last of their coffee when Jackie knocked. "Cars here you two! Hurry up!"

"She hasn't changed a bit." The Doctor mused.

"Oh, she's going to worse. She hates flying on the Torchwood craft." Rose snickered. "Says they make her sick. If we're lucky she'll take a mild sedative."

Rose pulled her shoes back on as the Doctor grabbed their bag with belongings. Then they headed down to the car. The drive back up to the beach was a bit slower, with all the tourist traffic. When they got to their destination, a crowd had gathered a short distance away from the sleek black craft parked on the beach. It's loading ramp was down, and two agents stood at the bottom, guns slung across their back. "Damn it." Rose groaned, when she saw Rodney Henderson stroll down the ramp.

"What is it?" The Doctor queried following her out of the car.

"Nothing, just well you'll see." Rose straightened her jacket and stood up straighter. Then she led them at a deliberate pace to the craft.

As expected, Rodney snapped a snap salute. "Commander Tyler! It's a relief to see you unscathed. Jake got your text last night. The machine is being disabled as we speak." The man's voice was crisp and direct. Rose inwardly rolled her eyes, then flinched a bit when she heard the Doctor let out a huff, but she snapped a return salute. "I see Agent Smith did not make the return jump."

"No, he did not Lieutenant Henderson. He preferred to stay on Earth Alpha." Rose remarked.She turned to the Doctor who was standing beside her mum staring at Rose with a shellshocked look. "Doctor, this is Lieutenant Rodney Henderson. He is the field officer of Intelligence Team Zulu. Lieutenant Henderson, this is the Doctor."

"Pleasure to meet you, Sir!" Rodney grinned. "We've heard a lot. Now, if we'd all hop on board, these lovely civilians can enjoy the day." He gestured at the milling crowd on the beach snapping pictures.

"Right." Rose gritted her teeth. "Come on Doctor." She took his hand and led him past the agents at the bottom of the ramp, who also snapped salutes. She responded with her own and led him up the ramp. They wound past a group of agents chatting in their seats, and settled into a seat just behind the man and woman at the controls. The Doctor settled into the one across the aisle, facing her. "You might want to buckle up." She advised, securing her own cross body harness.

"Why?" The Doctor queried, still looking at her a bit surprised but also impressed. She knew the questions would wait until they were alone.

"It can be a jerky flight, the first time on board." The woman at the controls chuckled. "Welcome back Commander Tyler."

"Good to be back, Captain Liland, Captain Anderson." Rose replied watching the Doctor buckle himself in.

"I think you actually mean it this time." Captain Anderson looked back over his left shoulder to grin easily at her. "And you finally look like you got a decent night sleep."

Rose stuck her tongue out at him in a very unprofessional way, and the man laughed. "Ramp up! Everyone prepare for takeoff." Rose grabbed the handle above her head and the Doctor mimicked her.

Somewhere from the back of the craft Jackie let out a loud "Bloody hell!" As they shot upwards. "You did that on purpose Anderson!"

"I did no such thing, ma'am!" Anderson called back, but Rose could see his lips twitching into a smile at Captain Liland.

"Behave!" Rose hissed at the pair and rolled her eyes. "Troublemakers, the both of them." Rose smiled at the Doctor, as the craft jerked forward for a bit then settled into a steady flight.

"Just crossed into Sweden ma'am." Liland advised over her shoulder.

"Good, let her ride out for a charge before we leap again." Rose responded automatically.

"Rose." The Doctor whispered. "What was that?" He looked a little dazed. His human form must be more sensitive to jerky travel than his Time Lord body.

"Short range transfer jump." Rose explained. "Bad Wolf bay is a seven hours, as the crow flies. Transfer jumps cut about three hours off."

"That's brilliant!" The Doctor grinned at her. "Amazing! Well beyond technology for modern humans in the other dimension." He let go of the handle to settle his hands in his lap. "Who invented it? Torchwood?"

"Commander Tyler did." Captain Liland offered from the front seat. "She and her team designed and produced all of the jump technology, well except the now defunct transport discs. Team Alpha designed those back during the cyber wars."

Rose felt her cheeks flush in embarrassment as she fiddled with one of her straps. She chanced a peek up at the Doctor, and he was beaming at her in adoration. "Oh stop it." She hissed, letting her hair fall in her face.

"I always told you you were brilliant, Rose Tyler." The Doctor's eyes were so bright and wide that Rose blushed more.

Anderson saw her face over his shoulder, and quickly piped in. "So, you're the Doctor huh?" His voice held the proper amount of respect and relaxed friendliness. Of course her closest friend here besides Mickey would remember what she said about the Doctor hating formality.

"Yep!" The Doctor popped the p as he spoke, and leaned forward a bit to look over the man's shoulder.

"Captain Mikael Anderson." He offered back over his shoulder. "I'd shake your hand, but I need to keep them on the controls. This is my partner in crime, Captain Amara Liland."

Amara looked back over her shoulder at him, fixing him with one of her signature knee knocking smiles. She wasn't flirting, Rose knew, she just smiled like that to everyone. "Here I was expecting some stalwart knight in shining armor." She winked at Anderson. "The way Rose babbled on about you. Wasn't expecting a naughty professor."

"Amara!" Rose laughed. "Stop taking the mick." She turned her eyes on the Doctor who was somewhere between preening and blushing.

An American voice called out from the back of the ship, one of the younger agents, Jeremy Black, if Rose remembered right. "Is that really the Doctor, Commander Tyler?"

"Yes he is!" Jackie piped up, sounding a bit green.

"Kickass." The new agent grinned and Lieutenant Henderson fixed him with a glare.

"Oh, let off him, Lieutenant. It's a long ride." Rose called down to the man. "It is pretty kickass."

"Tell us a story!" Jeremey beamed at Rose, and she winked at the young man.

"You heard him, Doctor. Tell us a story." She reached her leg across the aisle to nudge his foot. "Tell me about an adventure you had while I was gone."

"Well." The Doctor ran a hand through his hair and mussed it some more. "There was quite a lot. Do you want spooky or action packed."

"Spooky!" A couple voices chimed in.

"Action packed!" A few more replied.

"We need a tie breaker, Rose?" The Doctor gave her a wink.

"Action packed it is." Rose gave him her tongue touched smile. She was relieved to find that he was just as comfortable in the center of attention as his previous self. That was gonna come in handy.

"Alright then." The Doctor leaned forward as much as his harness could comfortably allow and launched into a story. "So there I was, minding my own business on the TARDIS. Literally, because I had just accidentally merged TARDISes with my fifth incarnation."

Rose let out a snort. "Which one was that again?" She tried to mentally dig through the pictures he had shown her what felt like so long ago.

"The one with the celery." He reminded her with a wink. "Anyways, there was a crash and I looked up. There was a spaceship version of the Titanic hull poking through the TARDIS wall."

"Left the shields down again." Rose chuckled, and he nudged her with a foot. "Sorry!" She pretended to zip her lip.

"Right, so anyways. I get on board and there's some lovely people saying they won their tickets in a raffle. The rest were all rich investors and businessmen. Very rude lot, I'll tell you that." He sniffed a bit and continued.

Rose looked down the aisle, all her agents were listening with rapt attention. She had never seen them this focused and relaxed at the same time. She found her mum, who was looking a bit nauseous and grinned at her. Jackie gave a weak smile back and rested her head against the seat.

"So then I met this woman named Astrid, she was a waitress." The Doctor flicked his eyes to Rose for a moment, his cheeks blushing. "Nice woman, and I snuck her along on an excursion to Earth. When materialized on the street, and guess who I met." This time he was looking straight at her.

"Who?" She asked tucking a lock of hair behind her ear.

"Wilfred Mott." He laughed.

"Donna's grandad?" Rose exclaimed. "Oh, I liked him!"

"Yep! First time I met him, actually." The Doctor shook his head. "That man is something else. He'd have made a great companion." He cleared his throat and launched back into the story. "So anyways, we wandered about London for a bit, then we got called back to the ship. Turns out the Captain had intentionally tried to crash the ship. So anyways, me and the excursion party are trying to climb through the ship to get to the deck, and these Angel Hosts start attacking us." He grinned eagerly explaining the story, and Rose watched.

This Doctor got a bit more excited, she noted, his hand flails a bit more dramatic. The genetics he took on of Donna's were showing through. Rose giggled at him. "Guess what his name was Rose?"

"Huh?" Rose jerked out of her tactical observation of the Doctor. The agents along the seat rows roared with laughter.

"I said guess what the Midshipman's name was." He was staring at her eagerly, like an over excited puppy.

"I have no idea." Rose gave him a half smile, feeling a bit embarrassed at everyone noting her staring.

"Alonso, Rose! His name was Alonso!" The Doctor laughed and clapped his hands. "I got to say Allonsy Alonso! Anyways, then we met the owner of the ship, Max Capricorn. He had been ousted by the other board members of the company, so he had arranged to sabotage the ship and send them into bankruptcy." The Doctor shook his head in disgust. "Anyways, the Angels kept attack us, and Astrid got a forklift and drove herself and Max into the engines core." Rose noticed he winced at that, sadness flickering in his eyes. "So the Angels reverted to the highest authority, me. We got to the bridge and I used the Earths atmosphere to restart the engines and saved Buckingham Palace!"

The agents applauded and the Doctor beamed at Rose. "Sounds like quite a ride!" She mused. She had missed his manic joy so much. "Shame I missed that from your vantage point."

"Yeah, from Commander Tyler's experience, the ship crashed and blew up the surrounding area." A woman from the back piped in with a snort. Rose fixed her with a death glare and the woman snapped her jaw shut.

"What?" The Doctor looked at her in horror. "In Donna's alternate reality, you saw it?"

Rose nodded. She avoided his questioning look and turned to the man sitting a few seats down. "Sergeant Matthews, I believe Zulu team is due for their quarterly field safety protocol review. We have another four hours. Let's get that out of the way, and they can leave early tomorrow." She tried not to sound irritated but failed. "Lieutenant Henderson, pass me your tablet."

"Right." The sergeant nodded and pulled a tablet out of the bag on the floor between his feet, and launched into the safety brief.

"Rose." The Doctor whispered leaning forward against his restraints. She could see the questions brewing behind his eyes.

"Later, Doctor. I promise." She huffed as the woman next to her handed her the slick cool metal tablet. "I need to start on my report."

"Prepare for second jump cycle." Captain Liland called out before he could respond. "Get ready!"

Rose gripped the tablet in one hand and the handle above her in the other, purposefully avoiding the Doctor's face. This was going to be a long flight. 


	3. Chapter 3

The hallway outside the loading docks was bustling as Rose led the Doctor out into it. They made it four steps before alarms began blaring everywhere. A crisp computerized woman's voice echoed out from speakers in the walls. "Code 16721 in boarding hallway Bravo. Unidentified biological technology detected. All security units respond."

"Fuck me running." Rose groaned. She turned to the Doctor and pointed at his pocket. "The TARDIS clipping." She huffed as a swarm of agents came speeding down the hallway and slid to a stop surrounding them.

"Commander Tyler!" A redheaded woman panted. "It's just you. What set off the alarm?" Her eyes found the Doctor standing beside her. "Blimey, that's the Doctor."

"Astute observation." Rose smirked. "Sorry, he's with me, Sandra."

"But something set off the alarm." Sandra held up a palm sized device. "Something smaller than a man. I need to catalog it, you know the drill Commander."

"You'll do no cataloging of anything the Doctor has." Rose stared the woman down, she could feel the Doctor's eyes on her. "If control has a problem with that, they know where to find me." She reached back and took the Doctor's hand. "Come on Doctor. Dad's waiting in my office."

The security team parted, and Rose led him to a glass lift at the end of the hallway. She punched in her security code, and the retinal scanner flared across her eyes. "Scan recognized." The doors slid open, and Rose yanked him inside.

Once the door slid shut, the Doctor rounded on her. "What is going on here?" He searched her eyes, curiosity and awe waging for dominance there. "You give out orders and everyone jumps. That's a far cry from the star eyed woman I knew."

"I'm still me, Doctor." Rose sighed and took his hand. "I've just grown up a bit yeah. Took on a few more responsibilities." She hoped he'd take that for an answer, but she should have known better. He was still staring at her intently. "Fine, I'm head commander for the field units."

"All of them?" Rose nodded at him and gave a soft smile. "How many units are there?" His voice was softer now, and he was looking her over as if appraising her in a new light.

"One hundred and eight." She responded as the lift came to a stop. The door slid open to reveal a sprawling executive office. The blinds were drawn, casting the gleaming sunlight into dimness. There was a large oak desk, with a comfortable looking leather chair behind it. There was a a set of small couches in front of a matching oak coffee table, and a couple pads of paper and a speaker system were resting on the table.

There was a massive painting that took up the wall behind Rose's desk. It was one of her own works: the TARDIS parked on green grass, a sprawling city visible behind it across a bay. Next to it was a small keypad. Various potted plants were around the room, and a gym bag rested on the floor near a door on the other side of the room. Her desk was in a state of organized chaos, and Rose groaned realizing she now had to face all the paperwork she'd been ignoring over the last few days.

A man opened the door and peeked his head in. "Oh! Miss Tyler! You're back, um, Mr. Tyler is on his way up."

"Thanks Paul." Rose gave the man a small smile. "Can you bring in some coffee and a tray of sandwiches?"

"No problem!" Paul beamed, and Rose saw him eyeing the Doctor behind her. "I'll get right on that."

"Soooo." The Doctor began, taking in the space. "This is not what I expected." His lips were twitching in amusement. "Very posh, but what's behind the painting." He moved behind the desk to squint at the keypad. He looked back over his shoulder at her, then typed in a code. There was a click noise, and the painting slid across the wall. "Day we met." He raised an eyebrow.

"Would it be any other sequence?" Rose laughed, then she bit her lip as he surveyed the vault he had unveiled. There was a variety of guns and weapons, alien and earth made, a set of flexible armor that would have strapped to her body and allowed for a full range of movement, a pile of folders wrapped in red elastic bands, and a small box containing a variety of fake identification documents.

"That's." The Doctor let out a low whistle. "Not very Rose like." He murmured, and Rose could see his confusion growing by the second. She really hoped he wouldn't judge her too harshly.

"That's not very Rose of the Powell Estate." A man's voice came from the doorway. "However, for Rose Tyler, heir to Vitex Empire, commander of Torchwood, and defender of the Earth, that is absolutely normal.

The Doctor closed the painting, and Rose turned to find her father standing there in his classic black suit and tie. "Hey Dad." She smiled at the man, and let him pull her into a tight hug.

"Glad you're safe." Pete said squeezing her and lifting her off the floor a bit. "But do you mind telling me why I've had six phone calls in the last twenty minutes from the director of security?" Pete grinned at her mischievously. "Not that I answered them, of course."

"I'll get to that." Rose winked at him as he released her. She smiled as Pete grabbed the Doctor's hand and pulled him into a brief manly hug.

"Good to see you Doctor." Pete grinned. "Haven't seen my Rose this happy since her nephew was born."

"It's good to see you too Pete." The Doctor smiled back.

"Alright gentleman." Rose chuckled and flopped down onto the couch. When the Doctor flopped down next to her, she took his hand in hers. "So I owe both if you some form of explanations." She looked up at the Doctor and gave him a half smile. "My explanation to you is too long to have here, so we'll start with you Dad." She fixed Pete with her gaze.

It hadn't taken her long to consider this man her father. He had always wanted children, and had welcome Rose with open arms despite his reservations about her during their first meeting. Their bond had formed the moment he had saved her from the void.

"The alarm explanation to you is simple." Rose heaved a sigh and looked over at the Doctor. He gave her a small nod and she continued. "I'm not sure how much Mum told you last night, but this isn't the Doctor as you know him. There's a whole backstory, but in short, he's a half human clone of the Doctor you met. Same thoughts, same memories, same everything, except he's human." She waited for Pete to nod in understanding. "The Time Lord Doctor is still locked on the other side of the void, but before we left he gave this Doctor a TARDIS piece. That's what set off the alarm."

Pete laughed and shook his head. "I can see why you don't want it catalogued." He paused for a moment then drew an large manilla envelope out of his pocket and handed it to the Doctor. "I had in processing draw these up this morning. It's standard protocol for all species coming into Torchwood that weren't born here. It's to set up your new identity. Rose can help you with them."

"Thank you Pete." The Doctor took the envelope and tucked it into his coat pocket. "So a fully functional Torchwood. So you run it?"

They were interrupted by Paul hurrying in with coffee and sandwiches. Once he left, and everyone had made a cup, Pete continued. "I direct the financial portion and head up the board of directors. Rose is also on the board, as she heads up the field operations division. I think you'll approve of her way of doing things, Doctor, despite what you saw in that vault."

"Yes, well, so far my welcome has seemed very Torchwood that I remember." The Doctor didn't sound condescending, but Rose could sense his irritability in the way he leaned back and propped his feet up on the table. He was trying to take on his aloof Time Lord persona.

"Sorry about that." Pete shrugged. "We weren't exactly prepared for your arrival. As of last night, we were supposed to be scheduling a press conference on a massive lab accident that killed Rose and Mickey. We barely had time to cancel that and prep the board for her return." Pete set his cup down. "Speaking of which Rose, I've already arranged for you to have a week off."

"Dad." Rose huffed and shifted in her seat. She was ruffled. She had a ton of reports to file through, thirty promotion evaluation packets to review, and a disciplinary to attend as a character witness. She hadn't been counting on doing them, but her sense of responsibility to her agents was strong. "Fine, but I'm taking those promotion evaluations home, and I'm still attending Melinda's hearing."

"Wouldn't expect you to pass those up." Pete shook his head. "I already gave those files to Jackie to take back to the mansion. You can grab them after dinner." He jerked as his mobile went off. He checked the screen and shook his head. "Have to go, Vitex is meeting with a pharmaceutical company facing bankruptcy. Have to go meet with their legal team in regards to a possible buy out." He stood and shook the Doctor's hand, then dropped a kiss on Rose's head. "Dinner, seven o'clock sharp. Tony will have a right fit if you don't come."

"We'll be there, Dad. Good luck with the meeting." Rose called as Pete strode out. She looked around the room, anywhere but at the man sitting so tense beside her. How was he going to respond? He was used to bubbly, innocent, naive Rose. She was so different now. What if he hated what she had become. She felt her stomach clench as he spoke.

"You've changed so much Rose." His voice wasn't accusatory. It was hesitant, unsure, and tinged with a shaky respectfulness. "It's astounding. What happened?"

Rose finally looked at him, and her stomach unclenched. His eyes held the same look as his voice. She wondered if that's how she looked when he regenerated. "I had to, to find you again." She explained, with a shy smile. "I'll go into it later, but basically after sitting around grieving for five months. Pete offered me a job as a consultant. Torchwood had already had some alien encounters, and I recognized some of the species. I was able to mediate some meetings with a refugee ship, and it just clicked." She shrugged at the memory. "So I started working as an advisor for the intelligence team. The few weeks I spent doing that, I started getting information on the extent of the technology in the lab."

Rose paused to sip her coffee, watching him watch her with a soft adoring look. "So then, I started helping with some of the experiments, only it was over my head. One day, I was working on some minor teleportation device, and it glitched." Here came the part she had been afraid of. "I hit my head and was out for a few hours." Rose paused to part her hair to show the Doctor the three inch long scar on her head.

"The medical team said when I was out, my brain patterns were weird. Areas that are normally low on activity lit up in this golden light on the monitors. Then it fizzled out as I regained consciousness. They had no explanation. I was still one hundred percent genetically the same, but it was like a whole part of my brain just kicked in out of nowhere." Rose tucked let her hair fall back down. "When I woke up, things that were way over my head began to make sense to me. Pete encouraged me to go back to get my A levels. I did and finished the two year program in four months. Then I went on to college. At first, I was just studying general courses, but then I kept going." Rose paused again. She felt a bit embarrassed, more like she was bragging than explaining.

"How far did you get?" The Doctor was grinning at her, listening in rapt attention to her speaking.

"I ended up with my masters degree in aerospace engineering within two years, and I just finished my bachelor's in metaphysics last month." Rose looked down and fiddled with the zipper on her jacket. "The neurologist says that the head injury triggered some type of eidetic memory ability, but we both know that isn't the case, don't we Doctor."

The look on his face turned from pride to confusion. "Rose, I'm not sure what you mean." Rose raised an eyebrow at him, wondering how he could honestly not get the connection. It was as simple as two plus two equals four. "Why are you looking at me like that Rose? Really, I don't understand what you're getting at."

"Doctor." Rose locked her eyes on with his, willing him to connect the dots. He didn't and Rose felt a slight bit of pride well up inside. She understood something he totally did not, and it had nothing to do with human domestics. She shook her head a bit in disbelief and finally whispered. "I remember the Game Station, Doctor. I remember Bad Wolf."

 

 


	4. Chapter 4

"No." The Doctor pulled back a a bit in shock. He ran his hand through his hair as he shook his head. "No, that's not possible. I locked those memories away. You shouldn't have been able to access them." He shot to his feet, and began pacing her office.

Rose leaned back into the couch, crossing her arms. She felt a bit of indignation blossom in her chest. Had he really thought he could keep those memories away from her? They were her own after all.

"How much did it change you, physically Rose?" The Doctor's face showed panic, and he pulled out a sonic screw driver from one of his pockets. He began scanning her with it, half kneeling on the couch.

Rose batted it away. "I'm still one hundred percent human, Doctor. It only enhanced my intelligence." She pulled him back down next to her on the couch. "I swear. It's like when I hit my head, Bad Wolf woke up, well what was left of her anyway. I don't remember much about being unconscious, except I dreamed I was searching for you and the TARDIS. She must have sensed my need and broke free."

"You talk like she's a separate entity." The Doctor observed, trying to scan her again.

Rose snatched the sonic from him and poked it down her shirt. "Stop that! It's rude." She ran her hands across her face, and heaved a sigh. "I talk about her like that, because I hear her sometimes. When something is out of my comprehension, or if I'm in danger, she makes herself known. It isn't words. She like snaps things I wouldn't have noticed otherwise together like a puzzle. She heightens my sense of awareness, when my adrenaline is up. I notice things people do in a different way."

The Doctor just shook his head, and then huffed a sigh. "You're an impossible woman, Rose Tyler." The panic in his demeanor lessened, and Rose smiled at him again.

"That's what the board of directors calls me too." She shrugged and looked up at the clock on the wall. It was nearly six, and they still had to get ready to meet her family for dinner. "Come on." She said, rising to her feet. She took his hand and led him to the door. Pausing briefly, she snagged her gym bag up and dug out her keys. "I'll explain the rest later. We've got to head out."

"Are we going to your parent's?" The Doctor asked as they stepped out into a large reception area. Paul was shutting off his headset and computer.

"Yeah." Rose replied, offering Paul a wave as she led the Doctor out into an empty hall to a different lift. "Gotta grab my car first."

The lift ride down the the garage was silent. They both had a lot to contemplate. Rose wondered if the Doctor felt as awkward and lost as she did when she first arrived. He was certainly abnormally quiet. If they had been back on board the TARDIS or strolling through some market on a new planet, he'd be babbling on at a million miles an hour. The playful awkwardness of that morning in bed had given away to tension between them. She was about to speak when he broke the silence. "It's sort of like when I regenerated." He finally gave her his trademark grin. "New Rose." He bumped her with his shoulder

"New New New Doctor." She fired back as the lift opened to the underground garage. "There's my girl!" Rose crooned making her way over to a cherry red sports car. She popped the tiny trunk, and dumped her gym bag inside.

"Very nice." The Doctor appraised, walking around it. "Perfectly streamlined, excellent assembly." He opened the door, grinning as it lifted up instead of swinging out. "Excellent!" He paused a moment, before sliding into the passenger seat. "You designed her didn't you?"

"How'd you guess?" Rose giggled, opening her own door.

The Doctor pointed at the round golden circles that patterned the door, accenting the leather. "The round things!" He laughed. "I love the round things."

"You got me!" Rose winked and slid into the driver's seat. She pulled her own door closed and slid her key into the ignition. She let out a sigh of joy when the car roared to life, then settled into a lion like purr of power. She tried not to watch the intimate way the Doctor stroked the dashboard. She eased the car out of the spot and whipped into traffic.

"Now this is very Rose." The Doctor murmured, buckling his seatbelt. "Sleek, agile, ready to run at a simple touch." He settled back into his seat and beamed at her.

Rose grinned back, touching a panel under the radio, and grabbing her sunglasses as they slid out on a tray. She slipped them on and pointed at a glowing red button next to the panel. "Push that!" She ordered with a tongue touch grin.

"Glowing red button?" The Doctor chuckled. "Don't have to tell me twice." He jabbed it with his finger, and the roof began retracting, exposing them to the warm evening sunset.

"Hang on!" She advised, pulling free from the flow of traffic and onto an empty freeway. A device on her dash flashed, making a camera on the side of the road blink in response. Then Rose put the accelerator to the floor. The Doctor let out a whoop to match her own as the car leapt forward, roaring its power as they sped up.

"Rose!" The Doctor shouted over the rush of the wind and engine. "This is insane!" His eyes were dancing as he gripped onto the the door.

"Oh come off it!" Rose laughed, zooming past a car ahead of them. "You know you love it." Rose still eased off the accelerator to a more acceptable speed and changed lanes to take her exit. She could drive the route blindfolded if she needed to.

"Running full speed with Rose Tyler?" The Doctor settled back into his seat. "Well that was always the highlight of my lives."

Rose looked sideways at him from behind her shades. This Doctor's openness constantly caught her off guard. It was like that Time Lord barrier that had always kept his affections just beyond her grasp had dissipated. "We're here." The empty road Rose had turned onto a winding path up to a pair of wrought iron gates. As they approached, the gate creaked open, and Rose pulled up the drive to park in front of the mansion.

"Well, it looks less threatening not full of cybermen." The Doctor chuckled. He opened the door and slid out. The front door burst open wide and a boy somewhere between toddlerhood and preschool age launched himself into Rose's hips.

"Rose!" He squeezed her in the tightest hugs his little body could manage. "I missed you."

Rose scooped him into her arms and kissed his cheek. "I missed you too Tony." She sighed. "How you been?"

"I built a rocket in school today!" Tony announced. "Do you want to see it?"

"Well of course!" Rose chuckled and shifted him on her hip. "But first, I have a very special person for you to meet. This is the Doctor."

Tony gazed wide eye at the man beside her and let out a squeal. "The Doctor! Is it really him Rose?" He began to wriggle in her arms, so Rose lowered him to the ground. He creeped closer to the Doctor and stared up at him. "Rose and Mummy told me all about you!" He explained in that childlike wonder. "They said there's no monsters in my closet, because you chased them all away. Is that true?"

Rose wasn't sure how the Doctor would react to Tony. She couldn't ever remember him interacting with children in this body, and his leather self had found children a bit annoying. She breathed a relieved sigh when the Doctor crouched down in front of the boy.

"That's right." The Doctor nodded, ruffling his hair. "But you look like a brave boy. I bet you could scare off any nasty monsters."

"You bet!" Tony giggled. "I'll kick their butt like Rosie does." Then he held his arms out to the Doctor as he stood up, and the Doctor pulled him up onto his back.

"How about you show me that rocket, huh Tony?" The Doctor asked winking at Rose. "I bet it's cool."

"It sure is!" Tony looped his arms around his neck. "It's in the play room!"

Rose followed the pair inside, listening to the chatter about the cardboard rocket and how it launched through a foot pump. She stepped into the entryway and sat her keys in a bowl on the table. "Mum! We're here!" She called wandering through the long hallway into the kitchen. Her mother was leaning against the bar sipping a mixed drink of some sort. Another glass sat on the bar top.

"Hello sweetheart." Jackie smiled pulling her into a hug. "Where's himself then?"

"Tony dragged him to the playroom with promises of a toy rocket." Rose explained grabbing the glass and taking a sip. "Mmm sangria. Perfect." She savored the fruity mixture.

"Figured you could use one." Jackie nodded. "Dinners already on the table. I know I said eight, but I figured you'd turn up early."

"Thanks Mum." Rose pressed a kiss to her cheek and downed the rest of her glass.

"How is he then? You two been bickering already?" Jackie finished her own glass and refilled both.

"No, Mum." Rose shook her head and stared into the drink for a moment. "He's so different, but in a good way."

"Different how sweetheart." Jackie asked making her way to the sliding doors that led to the dining room.

"Less guarded, more affectionate, and a little bit like a lost puppy." Rose sighed and slid into her usual chair, across from Jackie and to the left of Pete's head of the table spot.

"More affectionate how?" Her mum queried, reaching across the table to take her hand. "You two could hardly keep your hands off each other before. I don't know how much more affectionate you can get besides that."

"I dunno." Rose shrugged. "He gives me compliments without a slide to counter it. He hugs me and doesn't automatically go prattling away to brush it off. His kissed me goodnight."

"Like you weren't already shagging like rabbits." Jackie snorted shaking her head.

"Mum!" Rose whined a bit. "I already told you, before, we weren't like that." Not that Rose would have minded in the least bit if they had been. She was an adult then and now. She'd had plenty of fantasies while alone in her room on the TARDIS. Then she remembered the flashing embarrassment from the night before. "Thanks for the condoms by the way. I thought he'd die from embarrassment."

"You're serious!" Jackie gasped. "All this time I thought you were just saying that so I wouldn't slap him."

Rose rolled her eyes as Pete came walking in. "There's my two favorite ladies!" He announced, dropping a fatherly kiss on Rose's head and then a more lingering one on Jackie's lips. "Where are the guys?"

"Here!" Tony announced as the Doctor flew him into the room, holding him over his head like a superhero. "Yay! Lasagna!"

"Ooo I love lasagna!" The Doctor lowered Tony into his booster seat and then settled into the chair next to Rose. He was smiling, but he had that slightly lost unsure look in his eyes. Rose dropped her hand under the table and found his on his knee. She laced her fingers through his and gave a gentle squeeze. That lost look disappeared in an instant and he squeezed back.

Jackie began serving the lasagna, immediately breaking the silence by asking about Pete's day. "How'd that meeting go, darling?"

"Well, we're moving ahead with the purchase." Pete answered after sipping his wine. "The company needs a lot of work, but it would put nearly a thousand employees out of business if they go bankrupt. Once the purchase is complete, only their top level officials will be stepping down."

"Well that's good." Rose piped up in between bites. It was awkward to eat with her left hand, but she didn't want to let go of the Doctor. "Have you picked the replacement team yet?"

"Not yet, we've still got sixty days to do that." Pete raised an eyebrow at her. "Why?"

"Don't pick Victoria." Rose advised. She didn't want to say why in front of her mum. Jackie only knew the neurologist's explanation of Rose's situation. Pete knew the truth, since she had had to explain her brain scans.

"I'll keep that in mind." Her father nodded letting her know he got the message.

Dinner lapsed into small talk. Most of it was about Pete's day, some new thing Tony learned in pre-school, or the charity auction Jackie was heading up for the children's hospital.

When the plates were cleared, and dessert finished, Jackie yawned and stretched. "You two staying the night then?"

"No." Rose shook her head. As much as she loved spending time with her family, she and the Doctor had a long conversation ahead of them. The Doctor had already carried a drowsy Tony upstairs to his bedroom, with promises of a bedtime story.

"You sure, Rose?" Jackie reached across the table again. "I was watching him at dinner. You're right. He is a bit different. Never took him for being so great with kids."

"Neither did I mum." Then a distant memory creeped into her head. A quiet conversation in the TARDIS library one night. "I should have though. He had children of his own, and a few grandchildren, before the Time War." She didn't have to explain to Jackie what had happened to them. Some things a mother just knows.

"Well you two drive safe." Jackie admonished her. "No driving like a maniac."

"Oh, we're leaving?" The Doctor had reentered the room. A scribbled drawing was in his hand, and he folded it up and tucked it into his pocket. "I figured you lived here, Rose."

"Have my own house, in the city." Rose shrugged. "It was a bit more convenient between uni and Torchwood." She stood and pressed a kiss to her mother's cheek. "I'll call you in the morning."

"Liar." Jackie laughed. "You'll forget until well after lunch, and then you'll call."

"Probably." Rose chuckled and led the Doctor back out into the entryway. The files she needed were on top of the bowl holding. She snagged them up as well as the keys. Then she winked at the Doctor and offered the keys. "You drive, I hang on tight?"

"You don't have to ask me twice." The Doctor laughed snagging the keys and dashing outside. She followed him out, slid into the passenger seat, and set up the gps for her address. For now, this was a close to old times as they'd get.


	5. Chapter 5

The drive Rose's house wasn't long, even though the Doctor hadn't taken the car as fast on the highway. He said something about his vision not being the same as he was used to. Rose's house was a spacious two story home with an attic converted into an art studio and laboratory combined. The small front yard was well kept and modest, but her backyard had a swing set and trampoline for when Tony came over.

Rose directed the Doctor to pull into the garage. When he got out he let out a snort of amusement. "You have a motorcycle too?" He asked, gesturing at the sporty looking bike parked near the wall.

"Yeah." Rose shrugged a bit. Did she really seem so foreign to him now? "You got me addicted to running, Doctor. I had to do something to fix my wanderlust." She unlocked the door to the hall and stepped inside.

"I see." The Doctor replied simply following her in. The inside was nice, if a bit too posh for Rose's personal taste. Jackie had designed most of it, except her bedroom and attic. "This is really nice." He murmured, flipping on the light to the pristine kitchen.

"Thanks. Pete wanted to buy it for me." Rose explained. "But I didn't want to be that spoiled rich girl, you know. He kept insisting, so he paid half and I make enough at Torchwood to keep up the mortgage payments." She shrugged off her jacket, tossing it on the counter. "Although, I am not complaining about the showers and tubs." She stretched her sore back. The whirlpool tub of her ensuite was calling her name. "How about we both shower off, get into something more comfortable, and have our talk?"

Rose was already heading towards the stairs when his hand grabbed hers. "Will you hold still for just on minute Rose?" The unfamiliar sound of pleading in his voice mad her turn.

"Doctor, I promised you we'd talk." She shook her head. She needed to get into the tub and think. She had to get her head on straight, figure out which stories to tell now and which to save for later.

"And we will, but first, I want my proper end of adventure hug." The Doctor smiled at her, and it was the same smile that had waited when she came back after Krop Tor, same smile when she first stepped on the TARDIS again after he regenerated. He opened his arms to her, and Rose tossed her arms around his neck. She squeezed firmly, burying her face in his shoulder, as he squeezed her back. He lifted her up off the ground, making her legs dangle a bit, before setting her back on her feet.

"Thank you." Rose smiled. She had needed that more than she had needed the kissing. They gone through the most harrowing adventure of their times together, and she hadn't realized how wrong it felt to not have a proper Doctor hug.

"No, thank you." He rested his forehead against hers, but had not unwrapped his arms from around her waist . "For coming for me, for saving Donna, for everything." The Doctor pressed a feather light kiss to her forehead, and Rose felt contentment spread down her neck and straight to her toes. "I couldn't have done this without you."

Rose went up on her tip toes to kiss his cheek. She wanted to kiss his lips, but he had that shellshocked face again. "Come on, Doctor, let's get you into a warm shower and some clean clothes." She pulled his hand towards the stairs

"You have men's clothes here?" He asked and Rose could have sworn just a tinge of jealousy flashed in his eyes. "I mean, it's none of my business, sorry."

"Oh shut up." Rose rolled her eyes and stopped in front of the guest room closest to her master bedroom. "Mum had Pete's shopper bring clothes over you, you plum." Rose shook her head and opened the door. "She told us that at dinner. They should be in the closet."

The Doctor shrugged, a hopeful smile playing on his lips. "When Jackie talks, I kinda just zone out."

"I figured that." Rose snorted under her breath and let go of his hand. "I'm going to go shower and change. Meet you on the couch in twenty?"

"Sounds good to me." The Doctor agreed before slipping into the room and shutting the door.

Rose stared at the dark wood for a moment, then headed for her own room. She flipped on the light, shed her travel dusted clothes, and tossed them at the hamper by the closet door. She eyed the tub longingly as she made her way into the ensuite. She wanted to soak for a long while, but she had promised the Doctor twenty minutes. She turned on the shower, sending a silent thanks to Jackie for insisting on having it installed. The hot water rained down directly from the ceiling and alternating jets of water massaged her backs and legs.

She rolled her shoulders, letting the heat work out her sore muscles and aching joints. When she felt cleaned and a bit more relaxed, she stepped out and toweled off. She dug a pair of cotton pajamas from one of her drawers, another shorts and tank top set, and then she settled into the chair in front of the vanity next to the window. Rose had just begun brushing out her hair when the Doctor knocked on her door. She looked at the clock, she still had another four minutes. Raising an eyebrow he couldn't see, she called back. "Come in!" The door open, and the Doctor's reflection filled her mirror. Rose whipped around in her chair to gawk at the sight.

The Doctor was standing just inside her door, his hair damp and sticking up temptingly. He was shirtless, his lean runner's body shining with droplets of water. He was wearing nothing but a towel, and that towel hung low on his hips. This was the most of him she had ever seen, except when he regenerated. She hadn't been taking the time to admire him then. Rose let out a little gasp of shock and swallowed when the Doctor tugged at his ear awkwardly. "Rose, there were no clothes in the closet." He muttered, looking down at his feet.

"But there should have been, Mum said." Rose let her voice trail off. Her mum had said clothes had been brought over, but not where they were. She jumped from her chair and yanked open the closet door. She stepped in, moving past her rack of formal wear, and found a space had been cleared out to accommodate some men's clothes. She opened the set of drawers at the back of the closet, and sure enough, mens undershirts and a mixture of boxer and boxer briefs were folded neatly next to some socks. "They're in here, Doctor."

The Doctor came in behind her, the scent of his soap filling the space. Rose looked up at him, feeling a bit overwhelmed at him so basically naked and close to her. He shook his head and chuckled under his breath, and they said almost in unison. "Jackie."

Rose ducked under his arm and out of the closet. She raced out of the room and downstairs to locate a bottle of wine, corkscrew, and two glasses. Then she took the stairs two at a time, coming back into her bedroom just in time to see the still shirtless but now pajama pants clad Doctor emerge from her closet. "Sorry." Rose laughed shaking her head. "Mum has been convinced that we've been having some secret affair since the day we met."

"I wish." The Doctor muttered under his breath so low Rose barely heard it.

She chose to ignore that particular comment and settled crosslegged onto the king sized bed near the pillows. "Wine?" She asked, working the cork out of the bottle, and then patting the pillow next to her.

"Please." He nodded taking a seat next to her. Rose poured them each a glass of wine, and sat the bottle on the side table. She watched the Doctor's face as he tasted it. She giggled as he made a face. "My tastebuds are weird. They don't work right."

"Mostly human, remember?" Rose took a sip of her own glass and leaned against the headboard. "So, you want me to go first or you?"

"I can go first." He offered, taking another drink. "If it will be easier for you."

Rose nodded at him. She had missed his stories and ramblings. So she listened to him describe the adventures she had missed out on. Some she recalled twisted versions of, like meeting Donna and draining the Thames. Others she had caught at the tail end, catching him just as the TARDIS dematerialized. She refilled the glass she had drained, as she listened.

Rose took the time as he rambled to study him. He had some noticeable differences now. He looked just a bit older, a few more wrinkles around his eyes when he smiled. His hair was a bit longer, and some scruff was shadowing his jawline. The Doctor's skin was a bit more pink as well, and Rose attributed that to the warmth of his new body. His eyes didn't seem as old as they had before, like they held less of a burden now. His bottom lip was a bit more pouty, not by much, and interspersed throughout his sideburns were one or two ginger hairs. He had to pause more often to breathe, lacking his respiratory bypass system. His body was also just a tad thicker, his muscles more broad in his chest and biceps. If she had not had the Bad Wolf enhanced ability to note changes, she would probably have overlooked all of these things.

When he finally trailed off the end of his story, it had been almost an hour and a half. When he had been silent for a moment or two. Rose finally spoke. "I missed so much."

"I bet you had plenty of your own adventures." The Doctor mused finally finishing the glass of wine he had been slowly nursing.

"I had a few." Rose nodded. She turned her back to him to grab the wine bottle. She felt his fingers trace over a patch of skin on her shoulder, that had been pretty much hidden by both the dark of last night and her clothes.

"Where did you get this?" He gasped in worry. Rose looked back at the circular brand on her left shoulder. "Rose, how did you get that."

"On a jump." She explained, turning back around to fill their glasses.

"Rose, that's a Gallifreyan prisoner of war brand." The Doctor stated, locking his eyes on her. "You didn't think I would notice? Tell me."

"It was on my third jump." Rose took a sip to wet her throat. "My first two were harmless. I landed on some random planets just as the TARDIS disappeared. My third jump." Rose gave a visible shudder. "My third jump I landed on a planet I never learned the name of. There was the TARDIS, plain as day in front of me. I tried my key, but it didn't work. She didn't recognize me. Before I could jump back, two soldiers snatched me up. I didn't know who they were. I never learned their names. They saw me trying to open the TARDIS and assumed I was trying to steal it. They dragged me to some building and tied me to a chair." Rose saw anger flash in his eyes as she continued. "They called in for a detention team to come get me. Then I recognized the writing on their armor was Gallifreyan. They said that all inhabitants of that planet had sided with Davros, and that anyone caught attempting to steal Time Lord technology was to be arrested and taken back to Gallifrey for a war tribunal. I couldn't fight them. All I could do was wait for my disc to charge. The detention team showed up, and I tried to explain I knew you. They didn't even try to reach out to you. They branded me, and were prepping me for transport when my team asked through my disc if I was ready to return I screamed yes and Torchwood pulled me back, still tied to the chair."

"I'm so sorry Rose." The Doctor was blinking back tears now, and he reached out to stroke her face with a thumb. "My people, well they weren't exactly they way I used to describe them. I chose to remember them as good, because it was easier."

"It's not your fault Doctor." Rose took his hand from her face. "Now, moving past that." Rose smiled. "My adventures were harrowing, most due to my own sort of carelessness. In the beginning, we just aimed at the TARDIS link to my key. I landed in all sorts of places. Some were dangerous, like the Time War and Donna's parallel reality." She continued on, explaining the jumps as she could remember them.

Most of the jumps were fruitless, arriving late to the excitement. Other times, she had ended up in precarious situations that had her running for her life. There was the time she had ended up on a Sontaran cloning ship. That had resulted in some nasty burns on her right arm, although most had been healed to faint white patches. Another time she spent a whole half hour hiding in a carnival funhouse to escape a weeping angel. It wasn't the peril of where she landed that had had the most impact on her. It was the time spent in the void.

The brief seconds it took to pass the through darkness was nerve wracking. Exposing herself to the literal nothingness had left shadows on her mind. Rose could not find words to describe how it felt, except being utterly alone. There for those brief seconds each time, she felt as if she didn't even exist. "It was the most hopeless feeling in my life." She admitted out loud, feeling her body reacting with the same brief nausea and goosebumps that her body associated with jumping. She finally looked up at the Doctor as he took her third empty glass from her hands. His cheeks were flushed from the alcohol, and she was sure hers matched. She watched as he set the glasses down and then held his arms open to her.

Rose put her own arms around his neck, and breathed in the smell of his skin and sighed. The wine had her feeling relaxed, warding off the chill that always took over her when she remembered her jumps. The Doctor pulled her into his lap, rubbing soft circles on the outside of her thigh.

"I guess we both had quite the time apart." He murmured into her hair. "I am so proud of you, Rose Tyler. I'm a little in shock, but so proud of the woman you've become." He pressed a firm kiss to the top of her head, and Rose responded with a kiss to his collarbone. Shirtless, wine flushed, cuddles were something she could definitely get used to. "I'm so happy we found each other again."

"So am I Doctor." Rose replied, tilting her head back to look up at him. "I love you, you know." She smiled. "I've loved you since I ran into your box and let you whisk me away."

"I love you too." The Doctor gave her a wide smile. "When I lost you, it took everything I had to go on." He tightened his arms around her. "I'm never letting you go now. You're stuck with me."

"Stuck with you." Rose smiled back, remembering a dazzling black hole over their head. "That's not so bad."

"Not so bad at all." The Doctor agree, and captured her lips in their third kiss.

This one, Rose realized, was just as different as the other two had been. This one wasn't hesitant as last night's had started, and it wasn't the burning passion from the beach. This was like sinking into a warm bath. The Doctor's touches were firmer than last night's, but not pressing or exploring. He ran them along her thighs and lower back, or tangled them in her hair. There was no urgency to his caressing fingers or lips. Rose realized, as his hand ran through her hair, that this kiss was entirely about seeking comfort.

She responded to his kisses with the same relaxed sensation. She let his tongue dance with hers, or flicked hers along his lower lip. She kept her hands in areas she thought would keep him from pulling away, alternating between his upper back, his hair, and his cheeks. As calm as she tried to remain, she felt her body responding to him. Warm arousal began to spread throughout her body, and the taste and smell of his skin and lips began to make her head spin more than the wine.

Rose felt knew exactly when he began to feel the same, because he shifted her in his lap and broke his lips free. Rose didn't have to ask what was wrong. The Doctor just gave her an apologetic smile and moved her off his lap back to the bed. "Doctor." She offered him an understanding lift of her lips when he met her eyes. "It's okay, I'm not ready either." She didn't want him to think he had to hold any guilt at stopping. She leaned forward to kiss him again, just briefly. "How about we get some sleep?"

"I'll head to my room then." The Doctor murmured, scooting to the edge of the bed. He looked sort of put out.

"Don't be stupid." Rose tugged his hand. "This is your room."

 


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter contains violence and killing.

The following month passed in a dreamlike blur for Rose, and she was certain it was a tedious blur for the Doctor. The first thing to be done was to establish the Doctor's identity. He hadn't spent long contemplating a name and an age. He had picked to be classified as thirty-four, since that had been Donna's age at the time of metacrisis, and had also tipped the hat to her by taking her last name. To the world, he was Doctor James Noble, but to everyone inside Torchwood and the Tyler family, he was the Doctor.

Finding him a job had been the most difficult, for the both of them. He had contemplated taking a job teaching metaphysics at the university, but the day to day monotony of it would have driven him bonkers. Instead, he had been assigned to the research and development team at Torchwood, and as the scientific field liaison for Rose's team. This position held a double advantage, for the Doctor not only got to put his genius to work, but he also got to "borrow" supplies from the labs to work on their infantile TARDIS.

Their daily routine had finally settled into a steady rhythm, as close to what they had on the TARDIS as before. Rose was always up before him, out the door to attend her daily briefings. Then, if there were no field missions or he wasn't stuck in the lab, they would meet for lunch. Then afterwork, they met in the gym for a brief workout, or went for a run when they got home. Dinner always ended with them either working in the attic with the TARDIS or reclining in their shared bed and reading. One very strict rule they had agreed on was not to focus on work on their days off, unless they were called in.

Neither one of them had taken the lead to cross over that line of intimacy, and Rose could feel it begin to pull on her emotionally. She waited though, wanting him to make the first move. Not that she was exactly easy on the poor man. She had exercised her barely touched bank account and invested in some sleepwear that toed the line between pajamas and lingerie, forgone waiting to reach the bathroom or closet to shimmy out of her clothes, or walked from the bathroom to the closet in the tiniest of towels.

The Doctor had become just as much of a tease. He had become more bold during their kisses, his hands and lips exploring the exposed skin of her upper body, would smirk smugly when he had her rubbing her thighs together and panting, and then he would pull away when she was about ready to flip him over and take charge. Rose was pleased, though, to discover that the last two nights he had slipped out of bed when he thought she was asleep, to head to the bathroom. Rose had waited both nights to hear the shower, but the sound of water never came. When he did return to bed, his heart pounded against her back, and his breathing was escalated. She knew it wouldn't be long before he gave in to his human urges.

It was this thought on her mind as she was stripping out of her office clothes and into her field clothes. She took a moment to admire the faint red mark on her collarbone in the mirror, before snapping on the flexible armor over the black military style uniform. She brushed her hair back into a short pony tail, slid her preferred sidearm into her right boot, then her stun gun, radio, emergency transport, and her work mobile onto her belt. Just as she was sliding the TARDIS painting back into place, her office door burst opened.

"Rose!" The Doctor took a moment to catch his breath. He must have run all the way up from his lab in basement two. "What's going on?" His face was flooded with concern as he took in her field uniform for the first time. "They said your team was activated, but I wasn't called up."

"I'm sorry, Doctor." Rose grimaced as her radio beeped. Henderson was ordering everyone down to the response craft. "This isn't an ambassador mission or a research expedition." Rose pulled her earpiece up through her collar to hook it over her earlobe and into her ear, so the Doctor couldn't hear. "A ship has landed. We don't know what species or where from. All we know is they have taken an entire neighborhood, just outside of Brighton, Hostage. They are threatening to slaughter the entire town if we don't heed to their demands." She grabbed him by the lapels of his lab coat and gave him a quick forceful kiss. "Only intelligence units and combat units are being ordered out. Zulu team was activated. I have to go."

"I want to go!" The Doctor grabbed her hand pulling her back to him. "I can help."

"I know!" Rose sighed. "But I can't let you. We discussed the possibility of this happening, Doctor. You promised you could handle this." She put a hand to his cheek and kissed him again. "Hey, I'll be okay. This is my job, remember."

"I know I promised." The Doctor replied trying to snag one more kiss. "It's just so hard to see you rush into danger without holding your hand." He let her go with a weak smile. "Go on, Rose Tyler, time to defend the Earth."  
  
Rose stepped back into her private lift and waved at him as she shot down. She didn't miss the panic that filled his eyes as soon as he thought she couldn't see.

She emerged out into the hallway outside of her unit's loading area. Lieutenant Henderson passed her a rifle and she hurried up the ramp. Once inside, she grabbed a tablet from Captain Liland. "This the list of demands?" She asked, scrolling through the initial report from local law enforcement. "All breeding aged women in the town, and all young boys under manhood. This is ridiculous." She passed the tablet back with a shake of her head and shouldered buckled herself into the seat.

"From what we are understanding, the hostile forces are calling themselves the Matarans. We couldn't get much of their language to translate, because they seem to be speaking in some personal code." Henderson confirmed as he sat down across from her and buckled in. They clutched their rifles in one hand, and their handles in the other as the craft lifted from the ground, shot out of the launch bay, and made an immediate jump. "From the descriptions and video footage we've got, they look like the Bavulari, but they're taller, spotted orange, and have horns."

"Same system maybe?" Rose suggested. "The Balvulari are a peaceful people, but didn't they say that they had a neighboring planet who liked to raid primitive species?"

"Yes ma'am." Henderson pulled out his own tablet. "Just got an update on the translation. Seems like this is some right of passage."

"So we're dealing with adolescents." Rose banged her head back against the seat in frustration. "Damn it and a half, Henderson."

"I know what you're thinking, Commander." Henderson dropped his voice so the chattering agents down the aisles couldn't hear. "But they have to be stopped. We don't let anyone, human or otherwise, threaten our people."

"You don't have to remind me of that, Lieutenant." Rose hissed out. "We're taking response plan charlie on this though."

"With all do respect, Commander, I don't think that's the best option." Henderson shook his head and leaned forward. "Don't change the way you react just so you don't piss off the Doctor."

"This isn't about the Doctor." Rose growled, but she knew she was lying to herself. Response plan alpha would have been a better bet: overwhelm, capture, question, and then execute or release. Plan Charlie was negotiate, then overwhelm, capture, and question. "My men, my call." She snapped at him.

"Approaching the town!" Anderson called.

"Black, Myers, Sergeant Matthews you're with me!" Rose called down the aisle. "Bryant, Markest, Thompson, you're with the Lieutenant! The rest of you go with Corporal Waters and set up a perimeter around the ship and the roads out of the neighborhood. Follow protocol Charlie!" She half ripped her harness off and slung the strap of her rifle over her shoulder as she rushed down the ramp into the street below.

She locked eyes with the nearest police officer and headed his way. "Where are they?" She asked.

"Wait? Is this a joke?" The Officer, who's badge read Christianson snorted. "You're Rose Tyler, the Vitex Heiress."

"Yeah, and I'm also the commander of all field units for London Torchwood." Rose fixed him with a glower. "So where the hell are they at?"

The Officer turned a strange puce color and pointed. "They gathered all the civilians inside the church. They already killed two men."

"Stay back, and let my agents work." Rose ordered and waved her men forward. She eyeballed a clear window at the top of the building. "Sergeant Matthews."

"Yes Ma'am." He was at her shoulder in a flash. "See if we can't get a visual on the situation."

"Yes Ma'am." She saw him swing his bag around and pull out a palm sized drone and toss it into the air. Then he pulled out a small viewing screen and passed it to her. The screen flipped on and displayed the situation inside. Six orange spotted and horned humanoids had about fifty people huddled near the altar. Two motionless men lay in the aisle with their throats slit.

Rose saw movement in her left eye and saw Henderson leading his men around to the back of the church. At least he was sticking to the plan. She passed the screen back to Matthews and turned to Black. The young American had a brave look on, but Rose knew this was his first time going into a situation that could be met with conflict. "Look at me Black." She ordered softly. "It's all right to be nervous, just remember, follow our lead. You stick with me, stay on my left side."

The young man nodded, and Rose turned to Meyers. "You have the translation unit running to your eyepiece?" He nodded, and Rose gritted her jaw in determination as he kissed his wedding ring as he always did when a mission began. "Alright then, let's move in."

They moved up the front steps of the church, and Rose felt the twinge at the back of her skull that told her that adrenaline had stirred Bad Wolf. She watched as the golden contrast she had grown used to began accentuating the edges of the door. Her brain comprehended the uncontrolled movement as soon as it occurred, a check for trip wires. Nothing was there so she pulled the door open slowly, thanking whatever higher power existed in this universe for well maintained hinges. Then her small group slid inside.

The entry way was shades, but some yellow fluid and red human blood trailed a path to the sanctuary doors. Rose locked eyes with Matthews and began creeping forward quietly. They reached the double doors and paused. Rose gave the signal for her men to crouch into ready position and then she called out. "My name is Commander Tyler of Torchwood. I want to speak with the leader of Matarans."

There was a loud buzz noise, and a bolt of energy shattered the wood to the left of her head. Then a guttural language echoed out followed by a barking laugh. "We are not negotiating our terms, human breeder." Meyers translated.

"This is not a negotiation." Rose called back. "This is an ultimatum. Release our people or you will be terminated."

The guttural language responded again, and she saw Meyers' lip twitch in amusement. "Roughly translated, Commander, he said 'come at me bitch'"

"Lovely." Rose responded. She swung the butt of he rifle into her shoulder and called out. "This is your final warning, Matarans. Come out now, unarmed, or you will face lethal response!"

She breathed twice before a rapid barrage of fire totally obliterated the double doors. The people inside began screaming. Rose took a breath, keyed her radio with a series of beeps, then nodded at her men. A series of beeps filled their earpieces in response. Henderson was inside the back and ready to take the hostage to safety. Rose swallowed, nodded at her men once, then charged into the room firing high to draw attention away from the humans huddled in a group.

The Matarans immediately began firing, and Rose rolled behind a pew. She registered Black following her, without seeing him, and raised up to fire a three round burst into the horned humanoid rushing towards them. She didn't even flinch as he fell, and she ducked, moving forward using the pews as cover to get ahead. Behind the choir booth, the wall ripped back and Henderson's men rushed forward, they gave cover fire while rushing the hostages to safety.

Three more Matarans had fallen, and Rose saw one wrestling with Henderson and Meyers, and the largest was trying to wrestle Matthews' rifle from him. He picked up the hulking sergeant and threw him forcefully towards her and Black. They both ducked as Matthews crashed into the pew behind them. She locked eyes with Black and blinked once. They both charged the creature. The large Mataran raised the rifle he had snatched from Matthews and began firing at them. There was a howl that filled Rose's mind and escaped her throat as she hit the alien around the waist with all her might.

He skidded back, tossed the rifle to the side, and laughed. He kicked Rose free and snatched Black by the front of his vest and lifted him from the ground. Rose registered Henderson and Meyers killing the one they had been wrestling at the same time she saw the Mataran who had kicked her pull a knife from the leather sheath on his waist. He was going to slit Black's throat, the voice in her mind was telling her. She yanked the handgun from her boot and ran at the creature.

Rose rammed her shoulder into Black, as the knife came slashing down, and knocked him free. The blade bit into her shoulder, slicing through one of the slots between her armor plates. With a feral scream, Rose ignored the pain and raised her gun. She fired three times, point blank, into the creature's chest. The alien let out a strangled gurgle and fell to the ground, yellow fluid oozing out of his mouth and chest.

Panting, Rose scrambled to Black pulling him upright against an altar step. "Come on Black. Look at me." The agent's eyes were still closed. He was breathing though. "Jeremy, wake up!" She gasped, slapping his cheek. His green eyes blinked open.

"Did we win?" Black gasped, as his eyes focused in on Rose. "Commander, you're bleeding."

"Just a scratch, up you get." She replied. Pulling him to his feet with her good arm.

"Commander!" Henderson was beside her in an instant. "You need to get back to the craft. You're wounded."

"Well no shit!" Rose snapped, as her shoulder gave a massive throb. "Did the hostages make it out?" The golden glow in her vision was fading, and with the waning adrenaline, she could feel a warm liquid trailing down her back and chest. She was bleeding, her brain registered in a detached manner.

"They're all out safe." Henderson confirmed. "Intelligence is on it's way in to debrief local law enforcement and the hostages."

"Good." Rose took a step up the aisle, grinding her teeth against the pain in her shoulder and the growing numbness in her fingers. "Make sure you get to that Office Christianson, he recognized me." Her brain was doing that detached analysis again, informing her like a third party observer that her legs were staggering. It also registered that the pain in her shoulder was going fainter. She managed to say "that's not a good sign." Before her vision went dark.

 


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Here there be smut  
> Nice desperate angry smut

"That fucking hurts!" Rose heard her self scream as a massive burning sensation ripped through her shoulder forcing her back to consciousness. She saw the overhead lights of the transport craft above her.

"Muscle and tendon repair will do that to you." A woman's voice responded from her right. Corporal Waters was kneeling beside her with a buzzing device and a syringe. "Not like this is your first rodeo having it done either, Commander." She gave Rose a sympathetic look before inserting the needle into her shoulder again.

"How far from Torchwood are we?" Rose grimaced. The burning sensation had given way to the irritable itch of her muscles repairing.

"We couldn't jump with you out, so about twenty minutes." Henderson responded from his seat.

"Anyone else injured?" She groaned pushing herself upright.

"Matthews has a nasty concussion, and Black has a bruised trachea." Waters informed her. "You lost about a pint and a half of blood. As medical coordinator for the team, I'm recommending twenty four hours of desk duty for you Commander."

"I'll be fine." Rose huffed, pushing herself up into her seat. Her shoulder gave a flash of pain as she irritated the mending muscles and tendons.

"I saw that grimace, Commander. Stop moving your arm." Waters waved a second syringe threateningly. "Don't make me sedate you."

"Fine!" Rose hissed holding her arm still. "How did the intelligence debrief go?"

"Smoothly. We confiscated the craft, confirmed no other ships were in range of transmission, and agreed to pay for a new church in exchange for the town signing non-disclosure agreements." Henderson rattled off. "Now be quiet and rest."

Rose flipped him the middle finger on her good hand and rested her head back against the seat. Her head still felt a bit fuzzy, and she wondered how the Doctor would react to her injury. She was probably in for their first argument as a proper couple, and Rose was not looking forward to that. She remained quiet for the remainder of the trip, trying not to roll her shoulder at the tightness of the repairing muscles. She would have given her left kidney for a cluster nanogenes. She'd be right as rain before they even landed with those, and the Doctor would be none the wiser. She wouldn't have even had a scar.

When the crew debarked and headed to their locker room, Rose delayed exiting the craft. She knew had to face the Doctor, but she had something else to set right first. "Henderson, wait." She called as he was walking down the aisle carrying both of their rifles. He looked back at her for a moment. "You were right. Alpha would have been a better plan."

The Lieutenant shook his head and sighed. "Rose, I have followed you on so many missions. I was there to step in during every jump if you needed me to. You're one hell of a leader, and you earned your position." He nodded his head to her. "Just don't forget that you're not him. If he can't accept that sometimes action is a better response than talking, he needs to learn it quick. Don't lose who you became just to keep him around."

Rose wanted to snap at him for being so familiar, but he was right. She let her fear of the Doctor's judgement cloud her priorities. In doing so, she put her own men and the townspeople at risk. She nodded at Henderson and walked down the aisle to join him. "Thanks Rodney." She took on the same familiar tone he had used. "I didn't even know I needed that speech."

"That's why you keep me around." The man chuckled. "I'll turn in your weapon and email you the report to sign off on. I better not see you at the physical training in the morning either."

"Right." Rose groaned, as they reached the base of the ramp. "Desk duty."

She felt the Doctor's eyes before she saw him. He was standing on the other side of the glass door leading to the hallway. He was staring at her, his eyes wide and hands clenching and unclenching into fists.

"As much fun as this looks like it's going to be." Henderson whispered as they drew closer to the door. "I'm going to go check these into the armory. See you at the eight o'clock briefing. Good luck." He stepped into the hall first, as the Doctor yanked the door open.

Rose followed him in, feeling very much like a child being sent to the headmaster's office. She stood in front of the Doctor, waiting for the tirade about her being jeopardy friendly and out of her mind. It didn't come. So, she chanced a look up at his face and found it unreadable. "I'm driving home." Was all he said as he took her good hand and led her through the hall. Rose saw Pete talking to one of the board members in the main lobby, and he mimed putting a phone to his ear.

Rose nodded as she passed, following the silent Doctor to the garage lift and then to her car. The itch in her shoulder had given way to a warm tingle, and she rolled her shoulder experimentally as she buckled herself in. She saw the Doctor's eyes snap to the movement and his jaw clench. "Doctor, let me explain."

"Don't, Rose." He breathed, as he pulled into traffic. She stayed silent and could see the warring emotions on his face from the corner of her eye. Anger, panic, relief, joy, and sadness all battled for dominance on his features. His grip on the wheel was knuckle tight as they pulled into the garage at home.

Ross couldn't take the silence. She needed him to say something, anything, to let her know what was going through his mind. She wanted to ask him, but he obviously wasn't ready to speak. She rushed from the car, once it was parked, up the stairs to their bedroom, and into the ensuite. The image in the mirror spoke volumes.

Her ripped black uniform was sticky with blood, and the scarlet stain showed halfway across the white undershirt exposed at the collar. Blood was smeared up her face and matted her hair to her scalp in strange splotches. Her eyeliner had smudged, giving her pale face a skull like appearance. She looked like she had stepped out of hell. Now she understood why the Doctor had remained so silent. "Damn it to hell." She growled, ripping her uniform off and tossing it in a corner.

Rose turned the water on as hot as she could stand and scrubbed her hair and body. Once the water ran clean, she leaned her forehead against the warm tiles and let the massaging jets from the walls work out the soreness in her back and shoulders. She stayed in that position until the water ran cold. "You're an idiot." She chastised herself, banging the flat of her palms against the tile before turning the water off and stepping out.

She wiped off the steamy mirror, checking the cut on her shoulder. It still felt a bit tingly, but she had regained full range of motion. She'd be sore in the morning, but that would be the only pain. A jagged scar ran the entire width of her shoulder, and Rose crinkled her nose at the sight. It couldn't be helped, unless she could convince the Doctor to use the dermal regenerator setting on the sonic. Rose was not even going to attempt working that into the conversation.

Rose pressed her ear to the door, listening for him in the bedroom. It was silent on the other side, so she wrapped a towel around her body and grabbed another for her hair. She opened the door, walking out into the bedroom while toweling her hair dry.

When a pair of strong hands closed around her waist, she had to stop herself from elbowing her assailant. She was glad she did, because the towel on her hair was yanked from her hands, and she was spun around to have her back pressed against the wall, her wrists beside her head. Rose looked up to find the Doctor's staring down at her, his eyes dark but blazing in a way she'd never seen. "What the hell are you?" Her sentence was cut short as he crushed his lips to hers, pressing his body into her, pinning her in place to the wall.

It took Rose's mind and body a moment to catch up to the urgency in his lips and the soft moans breaking across her own. She kissed him back, trying to keep up with the frantic pace he set. He broke the kiss to trail bites and licks across her neck. Every place his teeth pulled, a desperate suck of his lips followed. Rose's brain vaguely processed that he was shirtless, and his belt had been discarded on the floor next to the shirt. She struggled against the vice grips holding her wrists in place against the cool wood of the wall.

The Doctor's hands released her arms, and moved to strip the towel away from her body. Then he caught her lips again, biting down on her bottom one with almost too much force. Rose found she didn't mind the stinging sensation. She dug her nails into the warm tense muscles of his back, trying to arch her hips into his. He pushed back against her, breaking the kiss long enough to make his way down the other side of her neck. Rose gave a desperate moan, as his hands found her hips then traveled farther down to pull her away from the wall and lift her up by her thighs. She wrapped her legs around his waist, grabbing onto his shoulder for balance and leaned down to kiss him again.

His tongue demanded dominance over hers, and she let it win. She felt his fingers tighten on her thighs as he turned towards the bed. The Doctor made a feral noise in the back of his throat as he dropped her onto the mattress. Rose found herself panting as she watched him. She wondered if he was going to run again, call it off. She couldn't handle it if he did. Her arousal had long since blazed to life low in her abdomen, and she could feel the wetness pooling between her thighs.

The Doctor still had that unfamiliar dark look in his eyes, and Rose realized it was lust. She let out a squeak at the intensity of it, but she needed this. Her body was ready to snap from the chaos earlier combined with the fire he had lit inside her body. Her fear of rejection was washed away as he yanked open his pants and jerked them down to his knees, taking his boxer briefs along with them. He kicked them off, and Rose only got a brief moment to admire the image of the fully naked and erect Doctor before her. The Doctor rushed forward, pushing her flat onto the bed, and kissed her again.

Rose arched her body up to his as he pressed his weight down on her. She tangled her hands in his hair, surrendering to his urgent hands and tongue. One of his hands grasped her breast, the thumb rolling the nipple. The other trailed down her stomach to dip between her parted thighs, and Rose was grateful she had gone in for a wax earlier in the week. She gasped against his lips as his fingers slid between the sensitive folds and brushed her clit. She tried to maneuver a hand between them, to stroke him, but the hand working her breast stopped her and pushed her hand back up towards her head.

Rose felt his fingers dip lower, seeking her entrance, and she bucked against him as he slid one finger inside and twirled it. "More." She whimpered against his neck, as he broke the kiss to bite firmly on her uninjured shoulder. It had been so long for her, and the sensations he was lavishing on her body had her dancing dangerously close to the edge.   
She was yanked away from falling over when he pulled his hand back, leaving her feeling empty.

She was about to plead again, when she felt his hand move up to grip himself and position the head of his erection at her entrance. Finally he spoke, and the huskiness in his voice made her stomach do flips. "You take your pill this morning?"

"Yes." Rose breathed, jerking her head in an anticipatory nod.

"Good." He growled and thrust into her.

Rose cried out at the sudden motion. The Doctor froze above her, trembling at the effort to keep himself still. He gazed down at her, asking with his eyes if she was okay. His mouth was slightly open, and he was breathing heavily. She let herself relax around him. She was stretched, and while it did hurt a bit, the pain was sending flashes of pleasure up her spine. "Please don't stop." She gasped, bringing her legs up to wrap around his waist.

The Doctor let out a throaty groan of desire and began moving inside of her. One hand trailed along her neck and chest, trying to map her body with touch. The other tangled itself in her hair as his forearm supported his weight. His lips moved in desperation at every bit of skin they could find. Every time they found a spot that made her arch under him, he pulled her soft skin with his teeth.

Rose lost herself to him. Each thrust elicited a moan or gasp of his name from her. The feeling of his teeth, lips, and hands overloaded her mind. Every coherent thought she had was wiped away. All she could focus on was moving her body to meet his rhythm, and to stroke and grab the bare skin of his back, neck, and chest. She felt herself inching towards the ledge again. She was nearly there, but she needed something more. She pressed her foot against his bum, trying to adjust his position as her body sought the friction it needed to push her over. He shifted a bit, and his hip pressed against her clit as he thrust in. There!

Rose let her eyes drift open as he pulled his head up from the nipple he had been rolling so deliciously with his tongue. He looked absolutely sinful with his face flushed, eyes hooded and dark, and his lips parted just perfectly. She rocked up against him again, as he thrust in. She whimpered in pleasure at the sensation. "Oh." He growled, pushing himself up, pausing his thrusts just long enough to grab her hip with one hand, and raising his thumb of the other to his mouth. Then he began his rhythm again, the new angle making Rose garble his name incoherently at the upward pressure.

The Doctor lowered his wet thumb to her clit and began circling it. Slowly and lightly at first, then faster and with a bit more pressure. Rose cried out his name as she felt the muscles in her thighs and lower back tighten. She clenched them tightly, trying to make the pleasure last. She was so close. She felt her eyes close and heard herself repeating his name in desperation.

"Let go for me Rose." He groaned, his thrusts growing more erratic.

Two more circles of his thumb and another deep thrust sent Rose flying over the edge. Her back arched, pushing him deeper inside of her, and Rose cried his name. She twisted the sheets in her fists, feeling her legs squeeze tightly around his hips. Stars exploded behind her eyelids and her blood rushed inside her ears. She trembled against him, gasping for breath, as he pressed her back into the mattress kissing her. Rose felt the Doctor tense over her, his thrusts growing shorter and faster. Just as her vision cleared, he broke the kiss and shouted her name followed by the lyrical language Rose recognized as his mother tongue. She felt his thrusts slow down, and the trickling sensation of his release drip down as he slid out of her.

The Doctor pressed his sweat dampened forehead to her shoulder, as she shuddered above her. Her throat dry and raw, she whispered into his ear. "I love you, Doctor."

The Doctor rolled over onto his back, pulling her onto his chest and kissing the top of her head. "I love you too." He replied breathlessly. Rose could hear and feel his heart pounding just as hard as hers.

"Are you still mad at me?" She queried, lifting her head up to chance an innocent smile.

"Absolutely livid." The Doctor replied with an attempt at a furious face, but he failed miserably at it. So he delivered a quick swat to her thigh. "But we'll talk about it over dinner."


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took so long! Couldn't make it flow right!

Dinner ended up being delivered in the form of pizza, because neither Rose nor the Doctor could summon the energy to stand in front of the stove.

Rose tossed the crust of her third slice into the half empty box on the coffee table in front of the couch and leaned back against the couch cushion with a sigh. "Well there's a fantasy I never thought I'd get to live." She purred, pulling her feet up under her as she took a swig from the beer in her hand.

"What's that?" The Doctor chuckled from beside her, reaching over to squeeze her thigh. He still looked properly shagged. His hair was sticking up at odd angles, and a bite mark or two turning decorated his shoulder and chest.

"Mind blowing sex with you, followed by pizza and beer." Rose replied before snuggling up under his arm.

"Oh." The Doctor grinned down at her. "Well, then I'm always happy to check something off your bucket list." He rubbed her arm taking a moment to finish his own beer before setting the empty bottle down. "We still need to talk."

"Right." Rose grimaced. "So, how much did control tell you?" She was too spent to sit up, so she lowered her head to his lap and reached out to set her own empty bottle down.

"They didn't have to tell me anything." He replied, looking down at her. "I watched the entire thing from the feed on your helmet camera. Including the conversation on the ride out." The Doctor reached down to brush her hair out of her face. "Why did you ignore Henderson's advice?"

Rose chewed on her lip, trying to find a valid reason besides the one she knew. "I guess I didn't want you to think I had turned into some typical soldier." She admitted. "I wanted to prove that I hadn't changed too much."

The Doctor raised an eyebrow and squeezed the hand resting on her stomach. "As much as I hate the guns blazing approach, you have to remember that I did fight in a war." He leaned his head back and sighed. "The choice to try talking before fighting is what I am Rose. You have this whole other life I'm still learning." He grew quiet for a moment. "I am the Doctor, as we have discussed, but parts of me are different. This me understands that sometimes violence is a necessary evil. Did I or did I not flip a switch and annihilate the entire Dalek empire a month ago? Did I or did I not destroy my entire planet and all of my people to stop the Daleks and save the universe?"

"You had no choice." Rose replied automatically. She believed that completely. "If you hadn't, they would have continued their plans."

"Exactly, and if you hadn't stop the Matarans today, they would have continued theirs." The Doctor deflected back onto her. "I'm going to hate it every time you go on a mission that I can't join in on." He leaned over her to look her dead in the eyes. "But don't you ever, and I mean ever, make a decision like that based on how I may feel afterwards again. I'd rather be angry than see you come home in a body bag." He shifted his legs, pulling Rose up to sit on his lap. "Do you have any idea how close that knife came to hitting an artery?" He asked.

Rose shook her head, as anatomy and physiology were not classes she had taken more than one semester in. They had been irrelevant to her mission at the time. The Doctor placed a finger on her new scar and dragged it half an inch to her neck. Rose shivered under his warm touch. "You'd have bled out in under a minute, even with pressure being applied." The Doctor informed her with a serious look. "Now hold still. I'm taking care of that scar."

The Doctor shifted her in his lap again and dug into the pockets of the pants he had slipped on to greet the delivery boy, and pulled out his sonic. "This may tickle just a bit." He warned.

"I remember." Rose murmured, leaning forward to rest her head against his shoulder. She took a deep breath as he used the dermal regeneration setting to vibrate away the scar tissue. Rose smiled at the sensation and the scent of his cologne mixed with her shampoo on his skin. "I'm the luckiest person in the multiverse." She mused.

"Oh I don't know about that." The Doctor chuckled, moving the sonic along her skin slowly. "I think I am." The hand holding her thigh began tracing lazy circles on her skin.

Rose focused on that sensation, trying not to giggle at the tickling on her shoulder. After a moment she realized it was a pattern. Bad Wolf raised her drowsy consciousness to mentally poke Rose's mind into imagining the pattern being scribbled onto a sticky note next to the TARDIS console screen. Then she curled back up in the recesses of her thoughts. "Doctor?"

"Hm?" He hummed, setting the sonic down and wrapping his other arm around her.

"Those circles you trace on my skin when we cuddle, are they Gallifreyan?" She asked kissing the spot below his ear.

"Mmmhmm." The Doctor replied angling his neck to give her better access. His other hand began the pattern on the skin of her back under her shirt.

"What does it say?" Rose smiled as her breath across his skin raised goosebumps on his neck.

The Doctor whispered a string of those lyrical syllables into her ear, and the sound of them rolling off his tongue made her skin tingle from her scalp to her toes. "It's hard to translate into English." He chuckled. "But it roughly means 'This woman holds the love of the Doctor.'"

Rose's heart stuttered at the look that washed over his features. She tried her best to articulate the sounds he had told her. She was sure she had gotten it as close as possible.

"Say that again please." The Doctor begged, meeting her eyes. His eyes were bright and Rose swore she saw tears form for a brief moment. She repeated the words again, more confident this time. As soon as she finished, the Doctor gave Rose a lingering kiss.

Rose didn't need Bad Wolf to tell her that those words meant far more than what he had translated. She didn't push the issue, wanting him to open up on his own. She broke free of his kiss to try and hide a yawn.

"Bedtime." The Doctor ordered with a shake of his head. "We've both had a long day."

"Doctor." Rose huffed, linking her arms around his neck as he stood. He hadn't even bothered to set her down. "It's only eight o'clock."

The Doctor chuckled as he carried her up the stairs. "Did I say anything about sleeping?"

  
It became another unspoken rule between them, as time ticked slowly by, that Rose would take more caution on her missions without him. She knew though, without having to ask, that he was in the control room every time she went out.

It had been nearly three months since there had been any sort of live contact with other species. Most of the downed crafts that entered the atmosphere had either been abandoned or the occupants did not survive the crash. Rose found herself vaguely wondering if this was how it felt to live a normal life.

Her Doctor, however, was feeling the urge to run. She could see it in his eyes as he doted on the slowly sprouting TARDIS in the attic. The little thing had grown to a full six inches now. She could feel it in the way he took her hand during their evening jogs, and she could hear it in his sleep talking babble.

That's why she found herself wandering down to his lab at Torchwood, her surprise tucked in her back pocket as she pressed her finger to the scanner on the wall. She watched in amusement at the way he moved in contrast to the other scientists around him.

They were all focused intently on their projects or screens, but The Doctor had the dazed attention of a new intern. He was rambling on as he quickly disassembled some object in front of him, and the intern was struggling to keep up.

"So you see, Amanda, when the previous team attempted to cross wire the subatomic loop precipitator, they actually fused it with the energy extrapolation processor. This caused the marconiam inhibitor to short circuit and fried the entire system." The Doctor let out a sarcastic snort. "They should have."

"Synced the marconiam inhibitor to the subatomic loop precipitator, and then back wired the energy extrapolation processor into the central processing board." Rose piped in with a grin. The Doctor and the intern jumped at her voice, and he beamed at her. The intern still looked a bit overwhelmed. "Basically," Rose winked at the girl. "Red wires went to green, then green to yellow. It should have been yellow to green and then green to blue." She reached over the Doctor's hands and reset the wire positions. The device on the table started flashing a purple glow. "The red wires are supposed to link into the control interface."

She watched as the intern's face lit up with understanding. "That made a lot more sense." Amanda sighed. "Thank you."

"Now do that to these other two, I'll be right back." The Doctor took Rose's hand and led her over to the side room that doubled as the lab break area. "I don't think she's gonna work out." He huffed.

"Doctor, you were babbling so fast I barely kept up." Rose rolled her eyes at his expression. "She's interning under you because the science board thought she was a good fit. Give her a chance."

"So what brings you down to here?" He asked, tapping a finger to her nose. "Not that I mind midday visits."

"I wanted to know if you fancied taking a trip." Rose grinned up at him.

"Oh, do we have an ambassador mission?" His eyes lit up in excitement, and he shifted from foot to foot. "I've been dying to get out of this lab. Not that I mind it. It's exciting getting to do all this." He waved over his shoulder at the quiet room behind him.

"Nope." Rose laughed, popping the P in imitation. "I'm talking a vacation." She pulled the travel brochure from her back pocket and waved it in his face. "A month long trip anywhere you want."

"Seriously?" The Doctor snatched the waving brochure. "Anywhere I want?"

"Anywhere. I know it's not the same as picking a random planet." Rose shrugged her shoulders. "But it's the best I can do."

"Where do you want to go, love?" He asked flipping through the booklet.

"Somewhere we can just be us." She admitted. "No work, no missions, just holding hands and running."

"We don't need this." The Doctor tossed the brochure in a nearby rubbish bin. "I have an idea." A loud buzz echoed from the lab, interrupting them. They both looked over and saw the intern batting out her burning lab coat. "We'll talk about it later." He said dropping a kiss on Rose's head and dashing back into the lab.


	9. Chapter 9

The Doctor's idea of a vacation had Rose ecstatic. He had been unsure, at first, about whether or not they could afford it. Rose had not, until the night he proposed the idea, revealed the amount of money that her bank accounts held. She wasn't on the list of the world's most wealthy, by any means, even though Pete had given her full access to his fortunes should she ever want to use the money. Instead, she had taken what she didn't need from her Torchwood salary to cover day to day living, and allowed Pete to invest the rest. Over the last few years, she had acquired a substantial nest egg.

So, with the assurance of funds in his mind, the Doctor had booked two round trip tickets to the States. When they landed in Miami, their first stop was to purchase a used, but well kept sports utility vehicle complete with ample storage space and off road capabilities. Their second stop was an outdoor store to purchase everything they'd need for a cross country camping and exploration trip. Their plan was simple, before they hit the road every morning, one of them would close their eyes and pick a spot on the map. That's where'd they spend the night. If there was a campground nearby, they'd camp. If there was not, they'd book a simple hotel room.

Four days into their trip, they found themselves wandering a brightly lit cobblestone street in New Orleans. The nightlife held the mysterious energy that they had often found wandering through far off marketplaces. It was almost exactly the same, except instead of strange alien species strolling by there were humans. Instead of the Doctor clasping her hand was they watched a fire dancing street performer, his arms were wrapped around her waist, pulling her back against his chest.

"This is perfect." Rose smiled up at him, her head resting back against his chest. "Almost like old times."

"Almost." The Doctor grinned, dropping a kiss to her forehead. "I don't mind the change in certain parts though." At that, he tickled the bare skin showing between her rib length crop top and waist of her skirt. When she giggled and squirmed, he waggled his eyebrows at her suggestively.

"Cheeky." Rose laughed pressing back against his thighs. "Just like before, all this exploring has me thirsty."

"A drink for the lady it is!" The Doctor replied, unwrapping his arms to take her hand. "Gentleman's choice though." He turned his head, scoping out the surrounding bars and shops until his eyes settled on one. "How about there?" He asked pointing.

Rose followed his gaze to a tiny door propped open by an empty stool. It was wedged between a shop promising tarot readings and another advertising tattoos. A simple sign hung over the door naming the bar The Silence. The inside was too dark to see from across the street. "I dunno Doctor." Rose smirked. "Looks a bit shady." She looked up to catch his eyes, letting mischievous look fill her eyes.

"You're right." The Doctor leaned down and whispered in her ear. "Probably not the best place to be for a proper lady." Rose saw his lips twitch as he fought a smile back. Rose was reminded of a conversation in a storage closet orbiting a black hole.

"Let's go!" She exclaimed dragging him along. She let out a squeal of amusement as they dashed between cars to the other side. They couldn't fight back laughter as they walked through the door.

The inside was dark, except for the lights over the pool tables, behind the wall of liquor, and near the dart boards. A single box television was hanging precariously from chains and a wooden board on the far wall. Cigar and cigarette smoke clouded the air, and as their eyes adjusted, they took in the patrons. Almost everybody was over the age of forty. The men were mostly thickly built, their muscles hidden under hulking beer bellies. For most of, their exposed skin showed tattoos and scars. The few women were dressed in leather skirts or jeans, with skin tight shirts, and just as many tattoos.

Tucked away in a dark corner were a group of men around a poker game. The one with his back to them seemed as out of place as Rose and the Doctor. His close cropped brown hair looked oddly familiar. Whatever they were saying was drowned out by the rock music coming from the speakers in every corner.

Rose felt the long lost tingle of excitement and danger shoot up her spine and down her arm to the Doctor's hand. She followed him to the bar. She hopped up onto an empty stool, and the Doctor leaned against the bar and gave her a wink. An athletically built but thin woman wearing a pair of black biker boots, cut off shorts, and a skin tight shirt cut so low her breasts threatened to burst free came out of a door behind the bar. She sat the case of beer she was carrying on the floor, and tossed her natural red hair over her shoulder as she turned to them.

"What can I get for ya?" She asked, planting her hands on the bar as she sized them up. Rose's attention perked at her Scottish accent. "Although, I think the bars across the street might suit you better." She raised an eyebrow at the Doctor, then winked at Rose. "You can stay though." The Doctor feigned offense before squeezing Rose's bare thigh.

"Two shots of whiskey, and two beers, any brand." Rose said, pulling out a twenty dollar bill and slapping it on the bar. She winked back at the woman. "Little far from home, aren't you?" She smiled openly at the woman.

"You're one to talk." The red head chuckled, slapping two shot glasses on the bar and filling them to overflowing. Then she snagged two bottles from a cooler of ice beneath the bar. "What brings you two to this place."

"Traveling." The Doctor explained, clinking his shot glass to Rose's. They both downed the shot and slid the woman back the glasses.

"What about you?" Rose asked, grabbing her beer.

"My husband's got offered a job at a hospital here. I opened this bar." The woman explained. She noticed Rose's eyes travel to her empty ring finger. Rose could make out faint tan lines where a ring would go. "Get better tips without it." The woman smirked, drumming her fingers on the scuffed by shiny wood.

"Well that's a good reason not to wear it." The Doctor chuckled, releasing Rose's thigh to lean sideways against the bar and survey the room.

"You both look really familiar." The redhead lowered her voice and leaned forward, her arms crossing on the bar. Her eyes sparkled in recognition as Rose raised an eyebrow and tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear. "Ah ha!" The woman slapped the bar. "You're Rose Tyler." She still kept her voice low, letting her gaze travel over her patrons when an angry yell bellowed from the poker table.

"Guilty as charged." Rose held her hands up as if in defeat. "This is James Noble, but everyone calls him The Doctor." She took a drink of her beer, crinkling her nose a bit at the watered down taste. They had ordered any brand, and the spunky Scottish woman had delivered

"I'm Amy." The woman glowered as another angry yell came from the poker table. She spun around, grabbed what looked like a baseball, and chunked it at the men playing poker. "No fighting!" She yelled as the ball collided with a large man with a spider tattooed on his head.

"Well then." The Doctor laughed turning back to face Amy. "That's one way to keep them in line." He pulled out another twenty. "Two more whiskeys please, one for yourself if you'd like, keep the change."

"Feeling a little reckless, Doctor?" Rose smirked up at him, shifting in her seat to cross her legs in her tight jean skirt. He never had more than one shot and a couple of beers. He said he didn't like the way this body couldn't metabolize alcohol. Rose took that to mean hangovers sucked.

"When in Rome." He teased, reaching down to run his fingers along the edge of her skirt, pinching the exposed skin on the back of her thigh. "Isn't that what you said when I told you this skirt was a little daring?"

"Might have done." Rose gave him her tongue touched smile, as Amy filled three shot glasses. "Cheers." They tapped their glasses together and downed the shot. Rose giggled at the look on the Doctor's face, like he'd just swallowed something rotten. His twisted face turned to annoyance as he dug his phone out of his pocket.

"I have to call Bryan." The Doctor sighed in annoyance as he read a text message. "Something's wrong with that project I was working on. Be right back." He pecked Rose on the lips and hurried outside to take the call. Rose had a nice buzz going on from the liquor on her empty stomach, and it took her a moment to recall what the project was. Something about a new personal cloaking device for field agents.

"You good out here alone?" Amy asked, swiping the empty shot glasses into her hand and piling them into a bucket. "Need to go grab some more ice."

"Yeah." Rose waved her off. "I'll be fine." This was just a bar, maybe a shady bar full of rough and tumble men, but nothing she couldn't handle.

"Scream if you need me." Amy winked at her, then disappeared behind the door again.

Rose picked her beer up again, turning her eyes on the fuzzy television. Some form of professional wrestling was showing now. Rose snorted taking a large gulp of her beer at the dramatic body slam. Her view was soon blocked by a large plaid covered chest.

"What's a sweet little thing like you doing in a place like this?" A beer slurred rumble brought Rose's eyes up to the burly man with the spider tattoo.

"Cheap booze and crappy television." Rose scoffed, staring him down. "Speaking of which, you're blocking my view."

"Oh, that's one sexy accent there princess." The man smiled, leaning against the bar and placing a hand on her knee.

"I'm far from a princess." Rose quipped, picking his hand up and dropping it from off her knee. "Move."

"Don't be like that babydoll." The man reached out to touch her bared shoulder. "What's your name?"

  
Rose set her beer on the bar top and reached across her chest to snag his wrist. She slammed it into his chest, letting her nose scrunch in disgust. "My name is don't fucking touch me." She turned on her stool, not with her back to him, to try and get up. As soon as she slid down to her feet, the man grabbed her right arm.

"Where you going?" He chuckled. "Gonna go get your skinny little boyfriend."

Rose gritted her teeth and drew back her arm to slug him in the face, when another man stepped up behind the one holding her, grabbing his shoulder. "I think the lady said to leave her alone." Rose felt her stomach jump at the familiar voice.

"Fuck off!" The brute holding her arm spun around swinging a punch. His body blocked the man from Rose's eager eyes, as the newcomer leaned back to dodge the swing.

"So rude." That voice scoffed, and a just as familiar hand brought an empty beer bottle against the guy's head with a smash.

The disgusting man fell to the floor, and Rose was greeted by a dazzling smile that made her laugh out loud. Chaos erupted in the bar as the man's smile turned to confusion at the way Rose greeted him.

"I'll fucking kill you for that!" A man in a beard bellowed and snapped a poolstick over his knee. Amy came rushing out of the door, brandishing a baseball bat.

Rose grabbed the confused man's hand and yelled. "Run!"

The man smiled, clenched her hand in his, and they barreled at the door. The Doctor was just pocketing his phone when they rushed towards him. His eyes took in the sight, and he let out a whoop, grabbing Rose's free hand.

Together the trio dashed through the crowded sidewalk, through three red cross walk lights, and to a skidding, panting stop next to a large bronze statue.

Rose fell to the ground holding her sides laughing uncontrollably. The Doctor leaned against the statue base laughing just as hard. The new man straightened up from bending over panting and fixed them both with a smile of disbelief.

"You're welcome, by the way." He said shaking his head at Rose. She was still laughing too hard to speak. She looked up at the Doctor, pointed at the man, and the Doctor let out another bark of laughter. "What's so funny?" The man asked, putting his hands on his hips.

"Sorry!" Rose gasped, finally staggering to her feet. "My name's Rose, Rose Tyler." She offered him her hand for a shake. "Thanks for that back there."

The man took it and shook it still watching them with a look of confusion.

"I'm James Noble, but everyone calls me the Doctor." The Doctor clapped him on the shoulder, then looked at Rose. They both dissolved into another bout of laughter.

"My name's Jack." The man brushed some dirt off his button down shirt. "Captain Jack Harkness. You mind telling me what's so funny about almost getting murdered by a bunch of ex convicts and then nearly killing ourselves in traffic?"

"It's a long story." Rose wiped her eye, breathing hard to keep from laughing. "How about we grab a bite to eat, and we'll talk about it."

"Well, you'll have to pay." Jack snorted. "I left all my cash back at the bar when I jumped in to help you. I had everything riding on that poker game, and I don't carry card."

"Sorry, yeah. We'll buy you dinner." The Doctor grinned. "Come on Captain." He slung an arm over Rose's shoulder. "What happened while I was on the phone."

"Rosie here found herself an admirer." Jack explained as they headed up the street. He bumped Rose's shoulder playfully. "She looked like she was handling herself well, but I thought she might need some help."

"Well, at least it wasn't a barrage balloon this time Doctor." Rose snickered. She found her hand reaching to take Jack's in a friendly manner out of a long forgotten habit.

The Captain raised an eyebrow, but shrugged and laced his fingers through her's. "That some sort of inside joke?" He chuckled.

"Like he said, Jack, it's a long story." Rose smiled up at him. She felt so much like her old self it was almost impossible to keep herself from skipping between them. She had her Doctor and now she had her second best friend.

"Tell you what." The Doctor said pausing outside a take out restaurant. "Why don't we discuss it back at the hotel."

"Well that sound's promising." Jack purred fixing them with that trademark seductive look.

"Just the same." The Doctor mumbled under his breath and rolled his eyes. "Absolutely the same."

Dinner was some barbecue they snagged from a to go place, and afterwards Jack was lounging on one of the queensized hotel beds. He had shed his overshirt and was shaking his head at them in disbelief.

"Wait just one minute." He snorted reaching for the rum and coke Rose had mixed everyone a glass of. "So you're trying to tell me that the two of you are from a parallel universe, and in that universe you used to travel with my parallel self."

"It's true!" Rose exclaimed. She knew he wouldn't have believed them. "I swear to you! We met in the middle of a german air raid, and I was hanging from a barrage balloon. You were masquerading as an American Airman volunteering with the British. You saved me!"

"Am I on some prank show?" Jack laughed. "This where the cameras come busting in. I mean, sure you got the Airman part right. I just got out last year." He downed the rest of his drink. "The rest of that story is insane! I mean, a Time Machine, genocidal pepper pots with plungers, come on! Whatever you two were snorting in the bathroom before you came to that bar, I'll take some."

"Hang on!" The Doctor's face lit up. He jumped off the bed and began digging through his suitcase. "I can prove it!" He yanked out his pinstripe suit pants, and flopped on the bed next to Jack.

"How?" Jack and Rose said at once. Rose pushed herself up from her stomach to sit on the edge of the bed.

"I went back to the Powell Estate, after Canary Warf." The Doctor huffed, shoving his hand into a pocket of the pants. "Found one of the camera's you brought to show your mum pictures. Well, I took a bunch of things actually. Your mum's goldfish got traded for a power couplink in the Alpha Centauri system. Don't tell her though." He pulled a yoyo out of the pocket and tossed it behind them on the bed. Then he pulled out a rollerskate. "That's where that went." He murmured and dumped it to the floor.

Rose snickered at the look on Jack's face as more and more random items came out. There was an bag of Rose's old toiletries he used to carry for her, a tube of tennis balls, a metal cube with wires poking out, his favorite three dimensional glasses, a bundle of rope, a brown paper bag full of jelly babies, and finally one Rose's cameras.

"How did you do that?" Jack asked taking the pants and sticking his hand in the pocket. "Illusionist trick, right?" He let out a shout and jumped. The bed made a squicky noise as the movement. He pulled out a recorder flute. "Holy shit. What?"

"Transdimensional pockets." Rose explained. "Same technology as our old ship: bigger on the inside." She wondered what other things the Doctor still had buried in the depths of the pockets. How much had he managed to salvage from her old flat?

"Here we are!" The Doctor said, passing the digital camera to Jack.

Jack took the camera and began flipping through pictures. Rose hurried over to sit behind him so she could peak over his shoulder. There they were. Her old grumpy Doctor in all his leather glory, standing next to A beaming Jack.. "Who's he?" Jack asked, pointing at the Doctor.

"How I used to look. Another long story." The Doctor explained as he began stuffing things back in his pocket.

"Oh! Raxacoricofallapatorious!" Rose exclaimed. Jack was cradling an egg in his arm as the Doctor was speaking to a large green blob. "There's the Glass Pyramid of San Kaloon!" This picture was of Rose perched on Jack's shoulders as she was reaching up to grab a purple fruit from a tree. Picture after picture flashed across the screen: Jack holding a screwdriver in his mouth as he was sliding out from under the TARDIS console, he and the grumpy Doctor engaged in an arm wrestling match in the galley, and finally a video him carrying a kicking and squealing, bikini clad Rose into the purple surf of the leisure planet Atropicus and tossing her into the waves.

"You're not kidding?" Jack's voice was awed as he passed the camera back to Rose. She took it eagerly and turned it off. She slid off the bed and hurried to put in her suitcase, then resumed her spot on hers and the Doctor's bed.

"Still confused about the whole 'how I used to look thing.'" Jack looked around the room. "So where's the time ship thing, the TARDIS?"

"We don't have her anymore, remember." The Doctor reminded him. "We're working on a new one though." He went back to his suitcase to put his pants up. Then he pulled out the eight inch tall TARDIS cutting that was nestled in a small pot of dirt. "Have to grow a new one." He walked over to Jack and sat down next to him. "Here, touch it and close your eyes."

Jack looked over to Rose, and she nodded. "Go on then." She knew what he would hear when he pressed a finger to a small lump near the too. Their TARDIS had begun to sing just last week. She couldn't communicate like the old one could, but her lyricless hum was just as beautiful as her mother's had been.

"Oh my god." Jack gasped jerking his hand back. "Was it just humming in my mind?"

"She." The Doctor corrected him and brought the baby ship to his face to whisper to it in Gallifreyan.

"You're an alien." Jack was talking to the Doctor, his eyebrows almost reaching his hair.

"Half-alien, half human." Rose explained. "Time Lord to be exact. They don't exist in this universe." She rolled her eyes at the Doctor who was mumbling still to the TARDIS as he took her to the bathroom to water the sprout. "Basically he was an accidental clone after a human named Donna accidentally touched his severed hand, which parallel you kept in a jar in order to track him. Their genetics merged and, poof, Time Lord human metacrisis. He got a human body with all the memories and talents of a Time Lord."

Jack was staring at her dumbfounded. "Um, okay." He managed to stutter.

"So, the real question is, Jack." The Doctor had returned to tuck the TARDIS back into his case. "Do you want to travel with us for a bit?"

"Will it be dangerous?" Jack asked, looking at him.

"Always a chance of that." Rose snickered.

"Will there be running?" He turned to Rose now.

"Always!" The Doctor grinned.

"Will I be abducted and anally probed by an alien species in the middle of the night?" Jack's face was breaking into a smile.

"Wouldn't be the first time it happened." Rose laughed winked at him. "Not that you'd mind the probing."

"Sign me up!"


	10. Chapter 10

Rose was not the least bit surprised at how well Jack took to their travels. He was so much like the anomaly of a man they had left behind, and yet, he was a whole new person. It was the subtle differences that Rose noticed, much like she has with her Doctor. He was a just a bit taller than their Jack had been. He wore his hair shorter on the sides and liked to keep a dusting of scruff along his jaw, and he didn't flirt with her as much.

Over the two weeks they had picked him up, they had had quite the adventure. So far they had gone skydiving in Kansas, galloped horses across the plains of Texas, camped in the deserts of New Mexico. They had been some close calls, and Rose had only been responsible for one or two. The rest had been entirely at the fault of Jack and the Doctor.

Their little games had started off innocently enough, in an sports pub outside some college. Some frat boys had challenged the Doctor and Jack to a game of pool. Jack had upped the stakes by betting his watch. That led to the pair hustling the college kids. Rose had immediately made them stop. Then Jack turned it into a sort of game. Get Rose distracted and do it behind her back, to see how much money they could make before she went off on them. This happened in every town they stopped at.

The Doctor had invented a fun game of his own. It basically consisted of sending Jack to get something from a local store or take out place, and then see how many times he could make Rose climax before Jack returned. She had no qualms about this one though. They were playing this game now, actually, well a different version anyways.

The Doctor hands were clenched around the braided pigtails Rose had chosen for the day, his back against a tree, his teeth biting into his lower lips as Rose worked him with her mouth. Sunrise was just peeking through the trees of the forest they had camped, somewhere halfway up the mountains in Colorado, and it's pink and orange light danced across his skin.

"Rose." The Doctor whispered giving one braid a tug. "I'm close." His legs were shaking under Rose's hands and she gave a hum of excitement. This paired with the press of her tongue and tightening her lips made him buck into her mouth. She sucked harder, moving her head in time with the pressing of her tongue, once, twice, and then three times. She groaned as he released the braid he had pulled to slap his hand over his mouth and muffled his shout of release.

Rose took everything he gave her and released him with a wet smacking of her lips. Then she rocked back onto her heels and swiped her thumb across her chin grinning up at him. "Good morning." She giggled, touching her tongue to her teeth.

"Very good morning." The Doctor laughed, tucking himself back into his pants and closing his belt. He took a few shaky steps to help her to her feet and pull her in for a deep kiss. "You're turn." He whispered, pulling her lower lip into his mouth with a playful nibble. Rose moaned into his mouth, taking his hand and guiding it towards the button of her shorts.

"As very delicious and exciting as this is to watch." Jack's sultry voice made them jump and turn. He was standing a few trees away biting back a chuckle with the knuckle of his thumb. "And believe me, I could use this image alone to fuel my fantasies for a month, you guys should come check this out."

"What'd you find Jack?" The Doctor asked, as they followed their friend up a trail past the campsite they had set up somewhere around nine the night before.

"You have to see this to believe it." Jack called back, forging ahead on the brush filled path. "I was trying to gather firewood, when I came to this small cliff. There's something at the bottom, in a pile of boulders. It seems like something you two should find interesting."

"What do you think it is?" Rose asked, hopping over a large limb that had fallen. The pace Jack was setting, and the urgency in his voice had Bad Wolf stirring in the back of her mind since the first time they had taken off from England. The Doctor's face looked just as pensive.

"No clue." The Doctor mumbled. "But, my body feels strange. Like there's something here it recognizes. I can't explain it." He looked over to her and gave her his smile that promised running for their lives.

Ahead of them Jack had stopped and he was looking over his shoulder at them. "Watch your step."

Rose saw the forest floor come to an abrupt drop off, just a foot or so past Jack. She inched closer to him, looking down over the edge at the brush and boulder filled gorge below. There, covered in moss, was the glint of metal. The Doctor let out a low whistle as he looked down. "Ship of some sort." Rose confirmed for Jack. "Been there at least a year or so."

"Fancy some rock climbing?" The Doctor winked at them mischievously. "Something down there is still activated. I can hear it." His voice was a bit low, and he was doing that head tilt thing he did when he thought of the TARDIS.

"You have the gear?" Jack asked his face lighting up at the prospect of getting to see his first actual space ship.

"Better believe it!" The Doctor laughed. They all turned and dashed madly back to camp to change into more suitable clothing and locate the climbing gear packed away in the SUV.

The trip down was easy. There had been plenty of thick sturdy trees near the cliff edge to tie their lines off too. As they went down, the three of them worked in tandem to use the excess rope they had grabbed to weave a makeshift ladder to climb back up.

They reached the bottom, their feet sliding on the loose boulders and dirt that the ship had pushed up against the base of the cliff. Rose detached her D-ring and slid her way to the bramble growing around the ship. The two men paused to anchor the bottom of their ladder to the ground.

She pulled hard on some vines, and tarnished gold metal revealed itself. There was some sort of etching under the dirt and moss growing. She reached out to wipe it clean, and a bolt of energy shot straight up her arm and into her mind. It locked her onto the metal, shocking her entire body, then launched her back.

Bad Wolf roared to the forefront of Rose's mind. Like a feral wave of light she threw up a wall, as Rose crashed into a rock. "Doctor!" She screamed, pulling at her hair. Something was was assaulting her thoughts, warring with the golden glow of her mental companion.

"Rose!" The Doctor was in front of her, his eyes blown wide in panic. "What happened?" He tried to pry her hands away from her skull.

"My head! My thoughts!" Rose sobbed. Bad Wolf was doing her best, but the unknown assailant was ramming into the barrier around her mind, stabbing holes in the defenses. Soon, another, raging presence pushed at Rose's thoughts, this one screaming for access in the Doctor's voice.

"Let me in!" The Doctor shouted out loud. "Give me permission!" His fingers pressed almost painfully into her temples. She acquiesced, feeling his presence rush into her. He pushed past the center of her mind, throwing himself into the failing wall of the Wolf. She head him rage out a cry to the attacker, a string of musical Gallifreyan so intense it made her whimper. The assault ended abruptly. He yanked himself from her mind, pulling her against his chest panting.

"Don't touch it!" He yelled, not even turning to Jack.

Rose opened her eyes to see Jack's hand outstretched. He yanked it back shaking his head like he was dazed. He turned and stumbled over to them. "What happened?!" He half shouted kneeling down to place a hand on each of their backs. "Rosie, you okay?"

"This isn't possible." The Doctor's anger was dwindling to disbelief. "Rose, did the person or thing say anything?" He ran his hands along her arms, as if trying to warm her up. Rose realized she was trembling, and she felt like her skin had been drenched in ice water. She shoved away from him and dry heaved foam from her empty stomach onto the grass.

"No," she croaked, as she turned back to them. "It just started attacking me. Doctor, what was it?"

"Something that shouldn't be possible." He shook his head. "Stay here, don't move. Jack, get her warm. Telepathic assault drops the body's core temperature."

Rose watched the Doctor heave himself to his feet and cautiously approach the ship. She resisted when Jack sat beside her and tried to pull her into his lap. After a moment of shivering, she gave in, letting him wrap his warm strong arms around her and rub her exposed skin furiously. She got ready to jump up when the Doctor reached out to touch the metal she had exposed, but nothing assaulted him. He murmured something under his breath and began stripping the brambles and vines away.

Rose rested her head against Jack's chest as she felt her body temperature rising back to normal. She finally slid off his lap to stand. "Thank you." She smiled at him warmly.

"Anytime you want a cuddle, you just let me know." Jack laughed pushing himself to his feet. "No need to try and get yourself killed for it."

Rose rolled her eyes with a snicker and turned to the Doctor, who had all but exposed the ship by now. He was prying open a hatch on the top. "What is it?!" Rose called to him. She had never seen the ship before in her life, but Bad Wolf was growling intently from her resting place in Rose's subconscious. Whatever it was, it was danger.

"I just need to check something!" The Doctor yelled back. "It's safe to touch now!" Then he dropped himself into the open hatch.

"Shall we?" Jack asked, taking her hand, and together they approached the craft. Uncovered, Rose could see that the wings had been blasted away by some laser. Black scorch marks marred the golden and silver metal of the ship. Also, the back half of the ship was missing, possibly ripped off during entry to the atmosphere. The twisted metal covered the hole, and vines and saplings filled any open gaps. When they came around to the front end of the ship, Rose saw the etching again.

"Jack, the Doctor is right. This ship shouldn't be here. It's impossible, literally impossible for it to be." She gasped, reaching out to trace the designs.

"Why?" Jack asked, leaning in to look at the etches.

"Because it's from our universe, and the people who built it." Rose didn't get a chance to finish because the Doctor reappeared and spoke.

"Died over a hundred and fifty linear Earth years ago." He had a beeping box in his hand. "This ship is Gallifreyan."

 


	11. Chapter 11

"What is that?" Jack questioned, pointing to the box in the Doctor's hand.

"This, is a tesseract" The Doctor slid to the ground. "It's meant to hold a message or thought from one of my people, and it could be launched into space. What it would do is locate the nearest Gallifreyan vessel, be it a TARDIS, fighter ship, or diplomatic transport, and call out to the people inside." He leaned against the ship and rotated the cube in his hand. After a moment he pulled his specs out of a pocket and slipped them on. "Aha!" He exclaimed. "Look here."

Rose leaned in and saw that the box had an almost unnoticeable pulsing white light. "What does that mean then?" She asked, reaching out to touch the box. The light was intoxicating as it brightened and dimmed.

"Don't touch it!" The Doctor yelped, lifting the box over his head. Rose jerked back, clenching her hands into fists. "It's been modified. It isn't just housing a thought or message." He lowered the box back down to his eye level. "It's holding the entire consciousness of a Time Lord. Remember I told you the story of when I used the Chameleon Arch. It's like that, only her body is still in there. It's not a pretty sight."

The Doctor tapped the cube with a finger, and it blazed a faint reddish color. "I recognized the ring she was wearing." He dug into his pocket, pulling out a small greenish colored stone ring. "Her name was the Valdís. She was the youngest loomchild of Rassilon."

He tucked the cube between his knees and began pulling his shirt off. He wrapped the cube in the shirt and passed it delicately to Rose. "Don't touch her with your bare skin. She's very temperamental. The tesseract was linked into the mainframe of the ship to sustain it. She lashed out to protect herself." He began climbing back up to the hatch. "Go up to camp and bring me some kerosene. I need to burn her body."

"On it!" Jack replied, heading back to the ladder. Once he was out of earshot overhead the Doctor raised himself out of the hatch to fix Rose with a stare.

"Rose, this isn't right." He said, flicking his eyes up at Jack. "There was an incoming order on the control log. It was commanding all ships to reenter the atmosphere of Gallifrey." He rubbed his hands through his hair.

"So why is that wrong?" Rose asked, gingerly tucking the cube under her arm. It had stopped flashing red, and had settled into a faint teal glow.

"Because, the date on the log was the final day of the war." The Doctor swallowed and caressed the hatch opening with a disparaged look. "The day I destroyed them all. Rose, war was over one hundred and fifty years ago. How could she have crashed here a year ago? Her body decomposition shows she's been here that long." Rose felt her stomach churn at the fear in his eyes.

"We need to get back to Torchwood." Rose told him, digging in the cargo pocket of the pants she had changed into to find her mobile.

"I normally would say no." The Doctor grimaced. "But it's the only way we can get her plugged into a mainframe to communicate. Her thoughts are too compressed in there to articulate words."

"Got the kerosene!" Jack called lowering it to Rose with a rope. She untied it, set the shirt wrapped cube on a rock to untie the container.

"Can you go get water from the river and fill the container with the food!" Rose called back up to him. "The Doctor is going to need to wash off!"

"On it!" Jack called, turning from the ledge.

"Wait! Jack!" Rose yelled back up. "How'd you like a job flying again?! Torchwood could use a man like you!"

"Sounds like a plan to me!" Jack laughed flashing her a thumbs up then he jogged away.

Rose climbed the ship to pass the kerosene to the Doctor. She tried to look inside, but he blocked her. "Don't. Decaying Time Lady is not something you want to see." He took the kerosene and turned his back to her, then began pouring it inside.

Rose slid down and dialed Pete's number. Her father's groggy voice answered cheerfully. "Rose! I didn't expect to hear from you until next week!"

"Hey Dad. Listen, I need an extraction team." Rose sighed. "It's urgent. We also need the dimension cannon lab secured off."

"What happened? Are you okay?" Pete's voice was urgent. "Is the Doctor okay? What's going on."

"We found a ship, Dad." Rose explained, trying to keep the panic from her voice. "From the Doctor's planet."

"But he said that they weren't in this universe!" Pete half exclaimed. "Send me your coordinates. I'm on my way."

"Dad, you don't need to come." Rose shook her head and sighed. "Just send the team."

"Rose, you sound scared." Pete whispered. Rose could hear Tony's voice in the background. "I've never heard you so scared. You're my daughter, and I'm coming to get you. Send me your coordinates." He cut off the call.

Rose texted him her coordinates just as the Doctor had lit a branch on fire and tossed it inside the ship. In seconds, flames were crackling behind the window. The walls of the craft kept the flames well contained.

"Dad's coming." Rose informed him. "We need to get back to camp and pack up." She watched the Doctor pick up the cube and stare at it in disbelief.

"Let's get back up to Jack." The Doctor's face was clouded. Despite how much they had grown together over the last few months, Rose could see him instinctively begin to close himself off again. She could see the strain of the Time Lords settling back onto his shoulders like a cloak. He walked past her to the rope ladder and began hooking his gear up.

Rose clenched her teeth. She wouldn't let him cut her off, shut her out. This was their fight. They were a team. She recalled the last string of syllables the Doctor had whispered to her so many weeks before, and shouted them at him. They stumbled off her tongue and echoed off the cliff walls.

They had the intended effect. The Doctor froze, and Rose saw him visible shiver as he whipped around to face her. His eyes had blown wide in shock and his mouth was agape. Rose swallowed. "Don't you dare shut me out." She said firmly, and for good measure she stomped her foot. "You're human now, just like me. We're partners. We will face this side by side, not with you shoving me back like the teenage girl you found on the estates." She locked her gaze with his, not backing down from her determined stance.

"Of course." The Doctor smiled softly, his cheeks and ears flushing in shame. "I'm sorry, love. I didn't mean to. Old habits die hard you know."

Rose approached him and kissed him gently. "I know. Just don't forget that I can keep up now." She tapped her temple with a finger. "I've got her to help." She turned and hooked her line up and began scaling the ladder.

"Speaking of Bad Wolf." The Doctor huffed, as he hooked his line up and followed. "I saw here there, in your thoughts. Something about the way she pressed against my own thoughts was familiar. Like she had been in my mind before." He scowled as they climbed.

"When you took the time vortex out of me." Rose suggested. "Maybe then?" They were halfway to the top, side by side on the rope rungs.

"No, she didn't come into my mind then. I absorbed her into my physical body. If I had taken her into my mind." He shuddered. "I'd have become a god. I wouldn't have regenerated. It would have driven me insane."

"Well she came to me from the TARDIS." Rose contemplated. "Maybe it was remnants of your link to her."

"No. The TARDIS's link was different." He reached up now, to haul himself one handed over the ledge. He wasn't letting go of that bundle.

"I dunno then." Rose huffed pulling herself alongside him. "Leave the rope ladder. The team can use it to scale down and salvage the rest of the records for you."

They walked back to camp in silence, hand in hand. When they got there, Jack had warmed water for the Doctor to wash himself clean of the smell of body.

They had a small lunch and broke down camp as they waited. Jack, never the one for silence, challenged Rose to a game of cards. She obliged, as the Doctor was muttering to the tesseract he had unwrapped. Every so often, he'd raise his eyes to her and smile softly.

It was nearing sunset, and they had just finished breaking down camp when the sizzling whoosh of a jump craft echoed overhead. A vehicle extraction craft thundered into existence just after it. They circled them for a moment. Then headed towards the clearing near the river just down the mountain slope. Not even ten minutes later, Pete came barreling through the trees. His business suit traded in for a field uniform.

"Rose!" He called, pulling her into a crushing hug. Then he released her to check her over. "Are you sure you're alright?"

Rose nodded and smiled up at him. "I told you not to come. I'm fine."

"Can't deny that paternal instinct, Rose." The Doctor quipped from his position in the driver's seat of the SUV.

"Wait a second!" Jack exclaimed. "You're Pete Tyler!" He stared at Rose in shock. "Wait! That means you're Rose Tyler, like heiress of Vitex."

"Also one of the best and brightest of Torchwood." Pete grinned at her friend.

Before they could continue, Henderson's team came stomping into the clearing. "Commander, what's the status?"

"Downed craft, in the gorge about four hundred yards to the north east." Rose explained pointing over her shoulder.

"The fire is intentional. Do not touch or move anything until it is out. Then salvage the computer records and any workable parts." The Doctor cut in. He had a pack on his back and Rose knew it held the cube and the TARDIS sprout.

"Also, this is Jack. I hired him on as a new pilot. Liland is going on maternity leave in a few months. He can take her place." Rose gestured to Jack, who was introducing himself to agent Black. "We need to leave for home immediately. Did you get the Dimension Cannon room secured off?" This time Rose spoke to her father.

"What is going on?" Pete asked, looking between her and the Doctor. "The last time I saw those looks on your faces, you were about to send an army of Daleks and Cybermen into the void."

"I'll tell you when we get home." Rose hissed, fixing him with a look. "Let's go."

The ride back to London was tense. Most of her team had stayed behind to help with the salvage. Rose and the Doctor tried to keep questions at bay by talking about their trip, but as the trip back wore on, everyone left on board grew tired. Shifting in her harness, Rose rested her head on the Doctor's shoulder and closed her eyes.

_Daleks swarmed over a sprawling desert. Children dressed in red and yellow robes called out to her from the ruins of a decimated city. The wheezing groaning of the TARDIS echoed around her, but she couldn't see it. A woman stepped out of the ruins. She was tall and lithe. Red and gold silk hung like opaque curtains on her curves, and a shining black diadem of swirling black metal held back her shining silver hair. She wordlessly raised one hand and beckoned Rose with a finger. On that finger glinted a greenish colored ring._

"Landing sequence commencing!" Captain Anderson's voice jerked Rose awake. She gasped in surprise, floundering to get her bearings when the Doctor's warm hand found hers.

"Gamestation?" He asked softly, as Rose felt the ship descend into the launch bay. "You were mumbling about Daleks."

For the first time since Rose held that warm hand on the beach, she didn't tell him the whole truth. "Just a nightmare." She replied with a soft smile, unbuckling

"Well that was a hell of a trip." Jack said, unclipping his harness and stretching. "I could use a shower."

"Tell you what, Jack." The Doctor unhooked himself and shoulder his pack. "We have a spare room. Why don't you stay with us until you get settled in here?"

Rose stood and grinned at her boys. It was approaching midnight, the clock on the wall of the launch bay informed her. "How about we all head home, get a good nights sleep and meet in the Cannon room at eight?"

"Don't forget, your mum is expecting you round for dinner tomorrow." Pete reminded them with a smile. "Now everyone to the car, I'll drive you home."

"I'm gonna run up to your office, love." The Doctor said. "Left something in your vault." He kissed her forehead and left the group to jog to the private lift from the launch bay to her executive suite.

"I'll go pull the car around." Pete said leaving her and Jack standing in the hallway.

"Why'd you lie to him, Rosie?" Jack asked, as he and Rose began their way to the lobby. He was evaluating their surroundings with an appraising look.

"I didn't lie." Rose scowled, scuffing her hiking boots on the gleaming tile.

"Well you didn't tell him the whole truth." Jack chuckled. "Your left eyebrow eye narrowed, like it does when you bluff during poker."

"Damn it." Rose grumbled. She wondered if the Doctor had noticed as well. She didn't even realize she did that. So much for her poker face. "Do you think he noticed?" She asked, as they came to the lobby doors. The nighttime security guard at the desk waved at them.

"Definitely." Jack replied. "He did that 'I'm worried about Rose' jaw clench." Jack chuckled.

"Ready to go!" The Doctor called, hustling towards them from the lifts. His bag was noticeably emptier. The cube must be in her vault.

Rose took his hand and gave a deliberate yawn. "I'm beat. Think I'll take a shower and hit the hay." Pete pulled up to the front of the building and they headed out to the car.

"You've had a rough day, love." The Doctor hummed as they slid into the back seat. "I'll get Jack settled in. You rest."

Rose nodded, leaning her head back against the seat, and wished for the first time since two thousand and five, that the Doctor had never been a Time Lord. 


	12. Chapter 12

Rose's sleep had been restless all night. Even with the Doctor's warm arms around her, she couldn't sleep deeply. When their alarm sounded at six, she woke him up. She couldn't talk. Her mind was too heavy. As if sensing her need for silence, the Doctor kept his usual morning banter down to a minimum. They dressed together, and Rose paused at her vanity to apply her makeup. 

The Doctor was buttoning his pin stripe coat behind her. In the mirror, she watched him pick up his sonic, toss it once, then slip it into the inner pocket of his coat. Then he paused to stroke the TARDIS clipping on the dresser. She had sprouted another three inches on their trip, and had developed a lovely lavender blossom near her base. The Doctor had informed Rose that the flower indicated she would indeed be female, like her mother. Had she produced golden thorns, she would have been male. 

The Doctor's warm hands on her shoulders made Rose jump slightly. He leaned down to drape them over her chest as she touched up her lipstick. "I'm terrified too." He murmured into her hair. 

Rose nodded, lips pursed. "Just another adventure, yeah?" Rose whispered, kissing his arm through his coat sleeve. 

"Of course." The Doctor replied, pressing a kiss to the crown of her head. "The Doctor and Rose, off into the unknown." 

"Let's do this." She swallowed, standing up. She scribbled a note for Jack to make himself at home, and left it taped to the fridge. The Doctor was already heading into the garage. Rose snagged the keys from him, and slid into the driver's seat. They needed to talk, and she didn't want him distracted. 

Once they were sitting in the early morning traffic, Rose found her voice. "The Valdís." She began. "What was she like?" 

"She was on her third regeneration when We first met. She was young, all of a hundred and four, a spitfire, and a bit of a rebel. Though not as much as me." He gave a chuckle. "During her second regeneration, she actually lived with the Sisterhood of Karn. That irked Rassilon to no end, because he had a blood feud with the Sisterhood." 

"But what was she like?" Rose insisted. She couldn't get the image of the woman from her mind. "Was she good or bad? Cruel or kind?" 

"The Valdís was, for lack of a better word, ambivalent. She loved Gallifrey and the traditions of our world, but she despised her father and everything he represented." The Doctor shook his head. "We served together, in a battle. We were trying to set up defense for a small village in the wastelands." He grew quiet for a moment. 

Rose didn't press him. He never talked about anything to do with the war except the day he killed them. 

"Rassilon tried to order her home to the capitol city, but she refused." The Doctor grimaced. "The last thing she said to me, before she boarded a transport barge for the sky trenches, was to keep the faith." He sighed and rubbed his face with both hands. "It was the traditional soldier's farewell, but something about the way she said it haunted me to the day I did it. It was seven Earth months later that I made my decision. I sat there, stitching up the chest of an injured soldier. He was an infant, by our standards, only thirty-seven years old. That was the day I lost the faith." The Doctor groaned and ruffled his hair. "Less than a year later, by TARDIS time, a cheeky blonde girl took my hand and said 'There's me.' That's the day I found the faith again." 

He reached over to take Rose's hand, as she pulled onto the final rode leading up to Torchwood. Rose couldn't handle the guilt of keeping her dreams from him any longer. "Doctor, I lied about my nightmare." She whispered. 

"I know." His smile was light as he squeezed her hand. "I was wondering when you'd tell me. What was it?" 

"Daleks were attacking a village in a desert. Children were cowering in the ruins. Then a woman with long silver hair, a black diadem, and silk robes made of scarlet and gold was waving me to her." Rose couldn't take her eyes off the road to look at him. "She was wearing that ring you showed me on he right index finger." 

"That was the Valdís." The Doctor confirmed her suspicions with a grimace. "She must have left a trace in your mind. I can remove it when this is over." 

They stayed silent as they headed into the facility. The day shift agents were coming in, heading to their various offices and trainings. "I need to grab the cube." The Doctor murmured. "I'll meet you in the Cannon room." 

Rose nodded as they parted ways, snd she felt her body track her old familiar route to the room she had spent so much time in. It had been the old ghost shift room, in her old universe. Now it held nothing but computers and the empty floor braces that had held the cannon. 

Pete and Jackie were waiting for her, sitting side by side on the sofa Rose had spent many lonely nights curled up on, whispering to her TARDIS key. She didn't know what was coming now, but she knew she couldn't lose him again. She was shocked to see her mom. "What are you doing here, Mum?" She asked as Jackie pulled her into a tight hug. Pete stood up and went to work booting up the massive computer system around the room. 

"Your father said something big was happening." Her mum explained. "Something told me that this is something family should be here for." She pulled back to take Rose's cheeks in her hands. "As much as the Doctor drives me barmy, he's as good as my son in law. If anything wants to hurt either of you, it'll have to get through me first." 

"I love you too, Jackie." The Doctor chuckled from the doorway. Rose turned to see him holding the cube in his hands, like a new father holding a sleeping babe. He crossed the room to the circle of wires on the floor and knelt down. He plugged three into small divots in the cube's frame, and then buzzed his sonic over the connections. 

Rose followed him over to the computer, and placed a silent hand on his shoulder as his fingers flew across the screen and control panels. The tesseract began to buzz, and then with a high pitched keen it hovered into the air. The computer screens flashed gold and white, then slowly an image began to form. 

"Ready?" She asked the human Time Lord beside her. 

"Only if you hold my hand." He replied, holding his hand out to his side. 

"Always." Rose smiled, lacing their fingers together. Together they walked to the middle of the room, and stared at the main viewing screen. It was odd for Rose to watch an image pixelate to life before her on it. She knew that it was the same screen her team had watched her bodycam on so many times. 

Slowly, the fuzzy snowlike flashes settled into the outline of a woman. Then she fully formed, her lavender eyes gazing unseeing over their heads. She opened her mouth and Gallifreyan echoed from the speakers in the ceiling. Her voice was like wind moving through a thousand chimes, tinkling the lyrical language to them, as compared to the brass trumpets and wood flutes of the Doctor's voice as he replied. 

"If I must." The Valdís let an annoyed look flicker across her face. "If you love her, Doctor, you really should teach her our language. Although, the complexity of it has proven time and time again to stump many species."

"I have been teaching her, Valdís." The Doctor replied, rolling his eyes. "Do you know where you are?" 

"The last thing I remember, before transferring my essence to this thrice blasted tesseract was my controls telling me I was crashing to Earth." The Valdís' lovely eyes blinked and then narrowed as if in thought. "But I thought it must be wrong. The coordinates did not match the planet you so valiantly love, Doctor. They were flipped, like someone had held up a mirror to the universe." 

"That's because we're in a different universe." Rose piped in. 

The Valdís's silver eyebrows raised in surprise. "Is this the woman who I assaulted? What is your name?"

"Rose Tyler." She flicked her eyes between the screen and the humming cube. "And yes, it is." 

"My apologies, Rose Tyler." The Valdís bowed her head in a short nod. "I cannot see any of you, as my vision had been lost when I managed to make the transfer. You sound like a strong woman, Rose Tyler." She twisted her lips in a wry smile. "But with what is living in your head, you must be strong. How you have survived with her in there is astounding." 

"Apology accepted." Rose looked up at the Doctor as he pulled her closer. He was staring down at her with an odd look. 

"Valdís, what happened? How did you end up in a parallel universe and nearly a hundred and fifty years in the future?" The Doctor had shoved his other hand in his pocket, and he had that curious look on his face. His 'I am confounded but it is amazing' look. 

"Don't you remember, Doctor?" The Time Lady laughed. "How long has it been for you, to forget what you did" 

"By Gallifreyan standards." The Doctor sniffed, tilting his head to do the calculations. "Just shy of one hundred and seventy years. After the war, I traveled alone for less than a year, then I met Rose. We traveled together for another four, then we were separated for another three. Then I had a metacrisis and have been here less than a year." He explained, and then his eyes narrowed in dismay. "As for forgetting, I will never forget what I did. How does one forget burning their entire species to dust?"

"You didn't burn us, you over dramatic fool." The Valdís gave an unlady like chuckle and snort. "Is that what you really think?"

The Doctor met Rose's gaze. Confusion and dread passed over his face, chasing each other like a twisted game of cat and mouse. "What do you mean?" Rose asked the woman. 

"Doctor, what do you remember about the final day of the war?" The Time Lady's face grew concerned. "Show me."

The Doctor swallowed and stepped forward, still clutching Rose's hand, he placed one hand on the cube. Rose felt his grip tighten, and watched his face contort in anguish. She looked up to the screen and saw flashes of images blur past.

Heavy boots echoed down long hallway full of lasers, a red sonic pointing at controls on a wall, a large golden box on a pedestal, and weathered hands gripping it with a heaving sigh. Then there was a desert, miles and miles of sand, in the distance waited a decrepit barn. The box was on the floor of the barn, a shiny ruby under the weathered hand, and a voice that whispered so faintly from the speakers. "Then that's your punishment. If you do this, if you kill them all, then that's the consequence. You live." The weathered hands glowed golden in front of the TARDIS' time rotor, and everything faded to black. 

Rose choked back a sob as the Doctor yanked his hand free. Behind her, she heard her mother begin to cry. 

The Valdís returned to the screen. "That is not what happened, Doctor. There is a gap in there, you saw it." She smirked knowingly. "Let me show you what really happened after you stole the Moment." 

New images flashed across the screen. Nimble fingers on a control stick, a shining green ring digging into the rubber grip. A Dalek exploded in a blaze of light. Hundreds more swarming, dodging the bolts of light. The static of a radio headset filled the room. A commanding voice spoke "What's the mad fool talking about this time?" More Daleks exploding, firing, swarming. The stars ahead swirling as those feminine hands jerked the controls into a roll. 

"Hello, hello, Gallifrey High Command, can you hear me?" A higher pitched male voice crackled out. "This is the Doctor speaking" 

"Also the Doctor, can you hear me?" Her Doctor's voice staticky as it spoke. Rose released the Doctor's hand to clutch his arm. 

"Also the Doctor, standing ready." A third, battle worn gravel echoed out. A Dalek exploded into dust. Suddenly the Daleks all froze, retreating into massive formations. 

"Dear God, three of them, all my worst nightmares at once." The commanding voice groaned. Another ship flew by, a blue box, spinning madly towards the planet. The Valdís' voice whooped out a cheer. Then two more blue boxes whipped past, splitting around to circle the red planet below. 

"We're flying our three TARDISes into your lower atmosphere." The higher pitched Doctor voice informed the listeners. Bolts of energy assaulted the Dalek formations, trying to reduce the barrage of fire focused on the platforms just inside the line of the atmosphere 

"Just about ready to do it!" The gravely Doctor spoke again. 

"Ready to do what?" The Commander demanded. 

"Using our TARDISes going to freeze Gallifrey in a single moment of time." Her Doctor's voice spoke firmly. 

"You know, like those stasis cubes." The gravely Doctor spoke again. "A single moment in time, locked away in a parallel pocket universe." 

"Except we're going to do it to a whole planet." 

"And all the people on it." The Doctor was shaking under Rose's hands. He clutched her close, pulling her to him. His single heart was pounding, racing under her. 

"Why would you even do such a thing?" The Commander gasped, crackling into the speaker. An order to return to the safety of the atmosphere blazed across the control screen of the ship. Hands jerked the control stick, nosing the craft between two legions of Daleks firing in constant flashes. 

"Because the alternative is burning." The higher pitch Doctor half exclaimed. "And I've seen that." 

"And I never want to see it again." Her Doctor kissed her head, his hands digging into her lower back. Rose felt tears soaking her face. 

Dodging Dalek firepower, the ship jerked and spun. Warning alarms beeped out showing damage to a wing. More voices, all of them the Doctor, babbling into the room. TARDIS after TARDIS whizzing past, trailing webs of white light across the sky. "And for my next trick." Rose felt her knees grow weak as she leaned into the man clutching her close. She saw something in his eyes: hope. 

"No sir! All thirteen!" Another voice rang out in shock. The Doctor looked down at her, disbelief on his face. It wasn't possible, he only had one regeneration left. Rose knew that. 

"Allonsy!" His voice rang out. 

The ship was almost in the light below. A blast from a Dalek hit the other wing. The planet blazed bright, the ship was almost in the atmosphere. It jerked through the emptiness of the void as Valdís screamed. Then new stars, reversed constellations, a TARDIS spun past her, clipping the back of her ship. The vortex spun around like a neon tornado, then the Earth flared into life. Alarms screamed, alerting them all to the wings being shredded away. Then the tail of the ship was ripped off. Burning fire heated the panels as a mountain range rushed to meet her. Then it crashed. White light flooded the screen. 

"My back is broken." The Valdís groaned. Her hands closed around a tesseract wired to the console. "Find me." She whispered, and placed her barehand to the cube. 

The Valdís' image returned to the screen, and the Doctor fell to his knees, pulling Rose down with him.


	13. Chapter 13

"I'm not sure, Doctor." Valdís spoke to the room. "What happened exactly from the time you stole the Moment to the time you regenerated, but whatever it was was erased from your mind. You were meant to believe you destroyed us, but you saved us all."

"I don't remember." The Doctor gasped, holding onto Rose like she was his lifeline. Rose clung to him, holding back a bubble of relieved laughter. He hadn't killed them. He didn't have to torture himself any longer. Her Doctor was free of the torment he had carried for so long.

"Do you remember what we learned about the Moment in the Academy?" The smiling Time Lady asked.

"Just that it had a conscience and could pass judgement on the Time Lord who used it. . I sort of stopped paying attention after that, because the Master was passing me a funny drawing of the headmaster dressed as a chicken." The Doctor finally managed a chuckle.

"She did. Had you been paying attention to the lesson." The Valdís shook her head and rolled her eyes. "You would have learned that she took the form and name of someone important from the Time Lord's life." She raised an eyebrow. "Tell me, Doctor. Has that strong woman of yours ever gone by another name, a powerful name? Rose's mind has touched Time itself, and has always drawn her back to you."

Rose made the connections the Time Lady was drawing as fast as the Doctor did. They stared at each other, neither speaking the two words that hung so heavy in the air.

"Everyone knows you're a self martyring fool, Doctor." The woman sighed impatiently. "Why, so soon after what you thought you did, would you let someone in? Knowing you, you would have locked yourself away or tried to kill yourself. What drew you to this human?"

"I don't know." The Doctor murmured, smiling down at Rose. "I just took her hand and we ran." Rose smiled. If she focused hard enough, she could see those intense glacial eyes in the dark basement that night.

"Even as just consciousness, I can see her timelines tangled with yours. They stretch back to the Time War, pulling you to her, twisting around you. There is one small gap, then they merge again." She paused for a moment then laughed. "Oh goodness me, your metacrisis turned you human. Still, they are bound, woven together for a long while." The Valdís grimaced as her cube faded for a moment. "I have a request, Doctor."

"Anything." The Doctor replied, rising to his feet. "Anything to repay you for what you have shown me today."

"When we are done speaking, destroy my tesseract." The Time Lady's smile was weak. "I have no desire to be bound to this thing any longer." The screen flickered again as the Doctor placed his hand on the cube. When she returned, Valdís' face lit up. "Also, if you managed to salvage the control interface of my ship, you'll find a gift to boost your new TARDIS' growth. I sensed her for a few hours. She is a fine little thing."

"Thank you, for everything." Rose placed her hand next to the Doctor's on the cube. The cube blazed bright then faded to a dim glow. The screens went dark and the speakers fell silent. The cube lowered to the floor with a thud.

"Step back, Rose." The Doctor murmured. He unplugged the wires, aimed his sonic at the tesseract, and set off a high pitched buzz. Rose had to cover her ears at the sound, and she moved back as it exploded in a shatter of glass and dust. Golden light swirled out, filling the room and breaking every screen on the walls. The Valdís' voice whispered around them in Gallifreyan, and the light dissipated into nothing.

He pocketed his sonic and then turned to Rose. He held his arms wide, and she jumped into them. The Doctor kissed Rose, and she felt like it was the first time their lips had ever touched. There was a freedom in him that hadn't existed before. Each touch and sigh held a new feeling behind them. Her Doctor was changed.

"I never knew." Jackie sobbed from where Pete was holding her. Even he had tear tracks down his face. "I never knew why you were were so alone. I hated you for taking Rose from me, but now." Her voice cut off as she rushed over to wrap her arms around them.

After a moment, the Doctor broke free from the hug to turn to Pete. "Did the salvage the ship?" He asked, and grabbed Rose's hand.

"Yeah, it's in storage bay seven." Pete replied putting his arm around his wife.

The Doctor yanked on Rose's hand and led them in a sprint to the storage unit. He slapped his hand on the entry panel and pulled her inside when the door opened.

The wrecked and charred craft sat alone in the middle of the room. The Doctor let out s cheer and released Rose's hand to dash through the gaping hole in the rear. Rose followed him inside, gazing around at the inside. It was burnt from the fire, but she could make out the pilot's chair, mangled metal hooks and boxes sticking out from the wall. The Doctor was ripping open the panel under the controls.

"What is it Doctor?" Rose asked, moving to stand over him. She took a moment to admire the view she got of him on his back, his pinstriped legs the only thing visible. It was like it was Just another day working on the TARDIS.

"Hang on!" The Doctor called. Then she heard the sonic buzz. "Brilliant! Amazing! Molto Bene!" He exclaimed, scrambling out a black basketball sized globe in his hands. "Do you know what this is?" He asked, rocketing to his feet.

"No, tell me!" Rose felt his ecstatic joy flooding into her, and she bounced up and down on the balls of her feet. "What is it!?"

"An emergency connection sphere!" The Doctor laughed, kissing the black surface with a wet smack.

"Okay, and what does it do?!" Rose shook her head at his exuberance, but she loved it.

"Every TARDIS has a connection with this thing called the Eye of Harmony." His eyes held that manic look of excitement that usually meant the TARDIS was misbehaving and taking them somewhere they hadn't planned. "Basically it's a black hole frozen at the moment of it's creation. It's what powers a TARDIS' ability to travel in time. I've been trying to create one myself, but it's nigh on impossible without Gallifreyan technology." He kissed the globe again. "Once the TARDIS is large enough, I can use it to forge her connection with the Vortex!"

"Will it work?!" Rose spun in a circle unable to stay still. She was too excited, too energized. The Doctor was free and the TARDIS was growing.

"You bet it will!" The Doctor grinned. "Come on! We've still got three days left of vacation! This calls for a celebration!" He laid a kiss on her lips and led her from the ship.

The upcoming months were the most peaceful Rose had ever experienced since she first arrived in this world. The TARDIS was growing at a rapid pace. The Doctor had launched himself into preparing her console configuration and controls. Jack had settled into his new life with her team, and had single handedly ended an assault on the Earth by flirting with the invading general.

She sat happily in a chair playing with her brother, as Pete's New Years party buzzed around them. He was showing off the intricate toy the Doctor had given him for Christmas, a self assembling robot that could hover, shoot tiny rubber darts, and play two hundred various songs.

"Rose! Come here a second!" Pete waved her over to where a crowd of people stood on the balcony overlooking the garden. The Doctor was with him, looking too delicious for words in a suit and waistcoat. Jackie was fussing with his tie.

She snagged a glass of champagne off a small table as she went. "What's up?" She asked sipping her drink with a grin.

"Have I ever told you how proud I am to call you my daughter?" Pete asked, kissing her forehead.

"A couple times." Rose raised an eyebrow. "What's going on? What did you do?" She tried to keep the amusement from spoiling her stern look.

"I didn't do anything." Pete insisted raising his hands up. "But the Doctor on the otherhand..." he trailed off and pointed over her shoulder. Rose turned, barely registering her father taking her glass, and almost fainted.

The Doctor was staring up at her, his eyes both pensive and full of love. He was staring up because he was down on one knee, an open velvet box in his hand. Inside sparkled a beautiful but modest diamond and sapphire ring. Any other woman at the party would have scoffed at it's size, but to Rose, it was the most beautiful thing she'd ever seen in his hands.

"Rose Marion Tyler." The Doctor began, but he was cut off as Jackie began sobbing. He pulled a tissue from his chest pocket and passed it up to her. "Sorry, as I was saying, Rose Tyler. Years ago on a sidewalk in front of a playground, I looked you in the eye and told you to forget me. One day later, you looked into my eyes and said you'd there for me. We've been running across the stars together ever since." He paused to pull the ring from the box. "Outside of a little chippy just a year later, you promised me forever. I never asked you to do that, but you did anyways. That conversation has stuck with me. It has given me hope and light through so many dangers. I think it's about time that I did things the proper way. Will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?"

Rose felt the tears of joy burst free at his declaration. She couldn't speak past the clump of emotions in her throat, so she nodded and held out her hand. The Doctor surged to his feet, taking her hand in his and sliding the cool ring onto her fingers. "I love you." Rose choked out with a laugh, grabbed his lapels, and kissed him fiercely.

The Doctor pulled her close by her hips, and wrapped his arms around her waist. The small crowd of friends and family on the balcony cheered, and the New Year's sky burst to life with a cacophony of fireworks.

Rose pulled back from the kiss to smile up at the Doctor's own tearfilled eyes. She tilted her head when he leaned down to whisper in her ear. "Remember that Gallifreyan pattern you asked me about, and I said "this woman hold's the love of the Doctor?"

"Yes." Rose whispered back, shivering in desire at his warm breath on her neck.

"This part." The Doctor sang softly into her ear. "Doesn't mean 'The Doctor.'" He kissed the skin just below her ear.

"What does" Rose whispered the syllables back to him. She could articulate it better now that she had said and heard it a few times. "Mean?"

"That's my name." The Doctor smiled, kissing that sensitive spot again. "My true name."

She laced her arms around his neck and kissed him with a passion she didn't know she contained.

She was Rose Tyler. She was kissing the Doctor, and she finally knew his name. Everything in her world was perfect.


End file.
